The Coming Kingdom
How has your year been so far? It is sometimes amazing how much can happen in such a short time. How quickly a new year can grow old. Dreams, hopes and resolutions can be eroded in a day, or in just one or two sleepless nights.
For those of you who have already felt pain in this new year and are looking to the months ahead wondering how you will manage to make it through, I want to draw you aside for a moment. I want you to come with me. There is a mountain peak in the book of Isaiah I want to show you. It is a summit not hard to reach, but from its height you can look far into the distance. You can see into a world so unlike the one you are currently living in, yet one that is every day drawing nearer. Come, let me show you.
Millennial Kingdom
Isaiah 35 is a chapter of prophecy that speaks of Christ’s coming kingdom. Often referred to as the Millennial Kingdom, it is the time in the future when Christ will return physically and set up His earthly rule. Those who have followed Christ as both Savior and Lord, will live in this kingdom. God instructed Isaiah to prophesy of this coming time as a means of uplifting hearts that were heavy. It was written in a time of great suffering, pressure and fear in the nation of Israel. It was a time of brokenness and weariness. Hope appeared to be a thing of the past, and the future seemed to promise nothing but pain. Into this suffering, God said,
“Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God; He will come and save you” (vs. 4).
The Coming Kingdom
With this promise God goes on to describe the world that He is determined to create. He describes the kingdom that is coming, saying,
“Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb sing. For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert. The parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water…” (vs. 5-7a).
On and on He goes telling of a great reversal: of peace where there had formerly been conflict, of clarity where there had been confusion, of joy in the place of sorrow – painting with bright, beautiful colors over the present dark, filthy hues.
See the Coming Kingdom
With His words, God created a mountain peak, a ledge from which He urged His discouraged, hopeless children to look. While the peak was created for the people of Israel, the path to it remains for us today. The summit sits waiting, the view unchanged. Come, my friends. Take up your Bibles and see it. You who are weary. You whose hearts are heavy. You who spend your days loving and hurting. You who have yet to see your child walk. You who have yet to hear your child’s voice.
Come, look from this mountain and see the coming kingdom. See the coming beauty. Look with the eyes of faith into “That Day.” On that day you will see the eyes of your child light up for the first time with understanding. You will see his face as he hears your voice for the first time. Stand in awe as the one who has never walked now “leaps like a deer.” Listen to the song your once silent treasure now sings you.
Look from The Mountain Peak
Oh, friends, this is His promise. This is His Word. His children will not be disappointed. This pain, these days, these endless nights will not last forever. “Be strong, do not fear!” Look from this mountain peak! Remember what you see here. Clasp these pictures to your heart and hope. Will our God not deliver? Will He not keep His word? Though there is a long delay, can we not stand firm in our conviction that He will come for us. He will stand by His word. You who are followers of Christ, this night will not last. The therapies, the treatments, the side effects, the regimens will not be forever. You have His word. Stand with me on the mountain peak. Look over the land that is to be yours forever. Mark the path and visit often. See the sign God has posted at the summit:
“And the ransom of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing. With everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.” (vs. 10)
Seek Your Mountain
Remember these words. Remember Your God’s power to deliver. This mountain is for you. It is a refuge to which you can flee. It is a place to hide and to take your fill of hope.
This year, there will be days that hurt, but the mountain will always await you. The path will not grow old. Mark it well. Retreat here as needed and hope. Always hope. He will meet you there.
If you are seeking support through prayer, please visit our Prayers for You page. We invite you to allow us to pray for you… for your heartache, for your family, for your future or whatever is pressing down on your soul today.