For the LORD shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody. – Isaiah 51:3

Thanksgiving and Anticipation

The God who comforts us has come with song. He has come amidst the sounds of thanksgiving and praise. He has come to a people in anticipation, a people longing for redemption. The God of comfort is He who turns deserts into gardens of delight. It is He who brings salvation and justice. It is He who writes His law upon on hearts. It is He who causes the ransomed captive to return singing. He is the God to whom we give thanks and whose arrival we celebrate.

He takes our waste places and makes them flourish. Where are the waste places in your life? What of your hopes have you written off as hopeless? In what dimensions of your existence have you relinquished your dreams? These are your waste places. Into these wastelands comes the Messiah of Israel, your comforter.

Where is your wilderness? Change its name to Eden. By faith embrace the new day that God is bringing to you. Embrace Him in the desert and watch the flowers of new life bloom around you.

Sing with joy. Sing with gladness, Make melody in your heart. This is the day of thanksgiving. This is the time of refreshment. This is the time when longings swell into a chorus of fulfillment. The Day of the Lord is near.

Every new season reminds us that He has indeed come. Every year we remember that as He once departed, He will come again in the clouds of glory.

This is our blessed hope. All holidays are holy days, sacred or secular. We look back and we look forward. We are blessed with the big picture, but we also know that there is more to come.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

Until then, we shall rejoice in You!