Have you ever felt there is no way back from failure?
God’s people had turned away from God and were experiencing the damage that comes when we turn away from the God who gives us life.
But God’s faithfulness is greater than our failures. Instead of rejection, God’s people hear words of comfort, tenderness and pardon. Into the difficult national circumstances comes God’s voice, bringing good news, and transformation.
In the wilderness, Judah hears a message from heaven that God is having a highway prepared, a way for God to come to his people, and for his people to come to him.
Sometimes in our own wilderness experiences, feeling far from God, conscious of our sin and failures, we can lose hope. But the gospel reminds us that our relationship with God is a result of God’s faithfulness, not ours.
Our failures, the things that have happened to us, our turning away from God – all of these can certainly be obstacles to a relationship with God. But absolutely nothing can get in the way of the Father’s love for us, and his desire to draw us back to himself.
Hope comes into our lives when we understand that what God has done for us in Christ brings a light to our lives that is greater than the darkness of our sins and our failures. Focusing on who God is and what he is doing always increases hope.
