Though life sometimes brings some beautiful moments, it is often filled with sorrow and weeping. Don’t we often wish that we could go through our days without running into things that bring such trial and grief to us? Don’t we wish that someone would come up to us and say that this will never happen again, that our days of tears were over for good? As we read through our Old Testament Scripture passage for this third week of Advent we see that this isn’t just wishful thinking.
As the prophet Isaiah was nearing the close of his book, he was looking way into the future, to the time when God will make a new heaven and a new earth. Isaiah told us of some of the characteristics of this new world, which we also see described in the final chapters of the Book of Revelation.
One very important characteristic is that there will be no more weeping or crying (vs. 19). Isaiah had spoken earlier in his prophecies of a day when the Lord will wipe away all tears (Isaiah 25:8), and this is a promise given in the Book of Revelation, as well (Revelation 7:17; 21:4). This world is filled with so much sorrow and both physical and emotional pain, so many things that make people cry. We hear the sound of weeping in funeral homes, in hospitals, in the divorce courts, and in homeless shelters. The hardest part of these tears is that often it feels as if no one hears the crying and weeping. Does anyone care? God has promised us that He does hear, and He will answer (vs. 24). In the future world that He has prepared for His children, He will wipe all of their tears away.
In God’s future world there will be no premature death (vs. 20). One of the worst heartbreaks there must be is when a parent’s beloved baby dies. Isaiah records God’s Word, His promise that in His new kingdom there will not be a time when an infant will live only a few days. Not only infants, but God promises there won’t be young people, or even middle aged people dying. No one there will die before their time.
Another cause for weeping and heartbreak is when we work hard for something like a house or property, and then it is lost to us, perhaps due to some type of financial collapse, or maybe an invasion in the country by enemies. However, God promises us that in His new kingdom, we won’t build a house and have someone else inhabit it, or plant a crop only to have someone else enjoy the fruits of our labor (vs. 21-22).
Another heartbreak can be when we feel that no one hears us, that no one cares enough to listen to what we have to say. Sometimes there are people fortunate enough to be so close to another person that they know exactly what the other one is thinking, and that they don’t even need to finish their sentence, but the other one knows exactly what they are going to say. More often I think it is the opposite. No one cares to listen or acknowledge us. Sometimes we might even feel that God doesn’t hear us.
However, God promises us that He does hear His children when they call out to Him (vs. 24). God is not reluctant to hear us. He is a prayer-answering God. He promises to deliver us (Psalm 50:15). Even when we stumble through our prayers, God has given us the Holy Spirit to intercede for us (Romans 8:26). Sometimes we feel distant to God. It is at these times when we need to exercise our faith and demonstrate that we believe God despite our perceptions (Hebrews 11:6). Even when we feel isolated, God is not distant. He is closer than we can imagine, and He will answer us even before we can pray.
Jesus affirmed this for us when He told us that the Father knows what we need, even before we ask Him (Matthew 6:8). Before we even utter a word, God is involved in answering. While we are speaking, God is involved in bringing to pass the very things He planned from the start. As we wait expectantly for His return, we can let His promises to us bring us encouragement and hope.
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