Thankful Thursday

I'm thankful for this promise in Isaiah 26:3-4:

You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in You. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock eternal.

This passage was part of the lesson in our study of Isaiah for last week but I am still pondering it. I find such comfort in it. One aspect of our study for the last 12 weeks has been focused on understanding God's grace alongside His wrath and judgment. Isaiah is conveying God's judgment to the sinful people of Judah and surrounding nations in his prophesy but I am struck by how his compassion for those who will suffer comes through in his words. I can sense his real grief over those who do not trust in the Lord all these many years later. But Isaiah's words are God's words. He is bringing God's word to the people of his time and to us. So its God's compassion and grief that is so palpable to me. And what greater expression of grace and love is there than to warn people of the judgment and death to come and tell them how to be saved from it, even how to have peace in the midst of it?

And so in this advent season, in a world of uncertainty and chaos where death and destruction are as far away as a click on the internet, my goal is to keep my mind steadfast on the Prince of Peace. I thank God for His infinite grace and compassion in sending Him to accomplish the salvation by His death on the cross of all who would trust in Him. I thank Him for the privilege of sharing this very good news with those around me too. Merry Christmas, indeed!