Go on up to a high mountain,
O Zion, herald of good news;
lift up your voice with strength,
O Jerusalem, herald of good news;
lift it up, fear not;
say to the cities of Judah,
“Behold your God!”
10 Behold, the Lord God comes with might,
and his arm rules for him;
behold, his reward is with him,
and his recompense before him.
11 He will tend his flock like a shepherd;
he will gather the lambs in his arms;
he will carry them in his bosom,
and gently lead those that are with young. – Isaiah 40:9-11
Why do you say, O Jacob,
and speak, O Israel,
“My way is hidden from the Lord,
and my right is disregarded by my God”?
28 Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
29 He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
30 Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
31 but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint. – Isaiah 40:27-31
It appears that the church in Europe and the United States is becoming more apostate by the day. For much of the visible church, the Scriptures are no longer the rule of faith and practice. The church in these two regions seems to be in “captivity” to the powers of the world around her. It would be easy to be discouraged as I know some are. Israel and Judah were facing a similar situation when Isaiah prophesied.
The audience for chapter 40 is generally understood to be God’s people in captivity in Babylon. The message seems counter-intuitive for a captive people. God says through Isaiah, “Go up on a high mountain and proclaim the good news.” What? Proclaim good news while we are in captivity? Yup! That’s what God said.
Rather than getting depressed over the poor condition of so much of the Western church, our job, if we are to take an application from Isaiah’s message, is to boldly proclaim the good news of the gospel, from a high mountain if you can get to one. Obviously, the metaphor is to make the message known with boldness and clarity so the folks who hear can know there is a God who created us, loves us, and has made provision to save us. Many are just waiting to hear this good news. Their names were written in the Lamb’s Book of Life before the foundation of the world; they just haven’t found out yet. They need someone to pronounce the good news to them.
Some may be tempted to allow their emotions to control them like the folks in verse 27. They feel like God is ignoring them, God disregards them. For any of us who are tempted to be depressed like these folks, here Isaiah’s message. “He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength…those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength.”
The cure for spiritual despondency is to do two things.
- Wait on the Lord. Spend time in his Word and prayer pouring out your heart of weakness and pain. Tell him of your despondency and depression. He will renew your strength.
- Shout the good news from the mountaintops. Make the message of the good news of Jesus Christ known with clarity and boldness to those around you. I believe you will find you have had the cure to spiritual despondency with you all along.
“Behold your God!”
10 Behold, the Lord God comes with might,
and his arm rules for him;
behold, his reward is with him,
and his recompense before him.
11 He will tend his flock like a shepherd;
he will gather the lambs in his arms;
he will carry them in his bosom,
and gently lead those that are with young.
