JUNE 28, 2024
READ: Isaiah 41 (Focus vs. 17-20)
MEMORY VERSE
“I will turn the desert into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs.” Isaiah 41:18
BACKGROUND
After the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, New Orleans worked to slowly rebuild. One of the most hard-hit areas was the Lower Ninth Ward, where for years after Katrina, residents lacked access to basic resources.
Burnell Cotlon worked to change that. In November 2014, he opened the first grocery store in the Lower Ninth Ward after Katrina. “When I bought the building, everybody thought that I was crazy,” Cotlon recalled.
But “the very first customer cried cuz she . . . never thought the [neighborhood] was coming back.” His mother said her son “saw something I didn’t see. I’m glad [he] . . . took that chance.”
God enabled the prophet Isaiah to see an unexpected future of hope in the face of devastation. Seeing “the poor and needy search for water, but there is none” (Isaiah 41:17), God promised to “turn the desert into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs” (v. 18).
When instead of hunger and thirst, His people experienced flourishing once more, they would know “the hand of the Lord has done this” (v. 20).
He’s still the author of restoration, at work bringing about a future when “creation itself will be liberated from its bondage” (Romans 8:21). As we trust in His goodness, He helps us see a future where hope is possible.
By: Monica La Rose
INSIGHT
After prophesying that God would use the Assyrians and Babylonians to judge an unrepentant Judah (Isaiah 1-39), the prophet comforts God’s people with the hope of future deliverance and restoration (chs. 40-66).
Isaiah begins with affirming God’s sovereignty and majesty—He has the power and will certainly save and restore them (ch. 40). The prophet also assures the Israelites of His loving, providential care for them (ch. 41).
They have a very special relationship with Him—they were sovereignly chosen to be His servant. His covenant with them is still in force (vv. 8-10).
God assures them that He’ll bountifully provide for them, turning the desert into a land of flowing water, abundant and productive, so that the world would “see this miracle [and] understand . . . that it is the Lord who has done this, the Holy One of Israel who created it” (v. 20 nlt).
By: K. T. Sim
APPLICATION
When have you witnessed renewal after devastation? How can you be a part of God’s restoring work?
PR’s RE-EMPHASIS (From Post)
“He’s still the author of restoration, at work bringing about… a future where hope is possible.”
PR’s (PASTOR RICHARD) TAKE
“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland…to give drink to my people, my chosen, the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise.” Isaiah 43:19-21 niv
PRAYER
“Restoring God, please help my life be a witness to the hope I’ve found in You and the future You’re bringing.”
TODAY’S HYMN/WORSHIP/PRAISE/GOSPEL SONG
“I PUT MY HOPE IN GOD” Mike Harland/Cliff Duren/Dave Clark
I would not have chosen
The road I have been down
That left me so broken I could not see
But into my darkness
I heard God call my name out
He told me He wasn’t finished with me
I started with one step
In front of the other
Learning to trust Him without giving up
But He had a purpose
In each disappointment
I look back and know that he was enough
I’ve put my hope in God
My only hope in God
When all of my plans
Shifted like sand
I ran to the Rock
Where I could stand
Now I’ve put my hand in His
Because I am sure of this
Whatever the path
His promises last
I’ve put my hope in God
Now each day I follow
The One who has called me
But sometimes the memories fight for my soul
That’s when I stand up
And make this confession
That my God is able and He’s in control
I’ve put my hope in God
My only hope in God
When all of my plans
Shifted like sand
I ran to the Rock
Where I could stand
Now I’ve put my hand in His
Because I am sure of this
Whatever the path
His promises last
I’ve put my hope in God
READING THROUGH THE BIBLE THIS YEAR (DAILY)
PROVERBS 3
