Advent Devotional - Day 18

Wednesday, December 16
Isaiah 49:13

Do you ever find yourself needing to stretch your muscles? Sometimes it’s accompanied by a yawn. Most of the time it’s completely involuntary. We raise our hands, open our mouths, take a deep breath, and exhale. Comfort. Relief.

I could almost be describing what it’s like to find joy in God through praise and comfort and relief through God’s compassion.

I love the part of this verse from Isaiah that says “Burst into song!” Doesn’t that sound like something that would just…happen? Unplanned? Kind of like a stretch and a yawn, though maybe a bit more lively.

It’s like a broadway musical. We’re just going about our lives, but something significant happens and we just can’t help but ‘burst into song!’ All of a sudden we’re singing “arise and seize the day!” and jumping over fences and doing an Irish jig! Just me? Ok… well, you get my point.

God is like this. We can be slogging through our ordinary day, but God finds a way to reveal God’s-self. Sometimes that looks like bursting into song. Sometimes it looks like a stretch and a yawn. But both can feel like relief and even healing.

Today, open your heart and look for the moments where God may be urging you to burst into song. Maybe it’s “…how great thou art” Maybe it’s “…Praise the Lord, Praise the Lord, oh my soul!” Praise and comfort go hand-in-hand. It is well.

God, teach me to shout for joy and rejoice. Give me the courage to stretch, take a deep breath, and ‘burst into song.’ Help me to understand that the reason to praise is because of your comfort, compassion, and mercy. Amen.

Reflection by Jeff Allen