When Jordan died this past May I was in the “Old Testament prophets” (Jonah, Amos, etc.) in my daily devotions. When I recovered enough emotionally to resume my daily readings, rather than skip over to the New Testament, I decided to just pick up where I left off.

This may not seem like a big deal. But it was for me. Because the Old Testament prophets were used by God to, primarily, be the “town crier”, informing cities & nations of God’s coming judgment. (They weren’t exactly the most popular people.) They were typically hated, and lonely.

All of that said, I often asked the Lord, “Would you mind if I skipped over to the ‘good news’ of the New Testament?” But God, compassionate beyond my comprehension,  “put His mighty arm around me” and replied, “Nick, ALL of My Word is ‘good news.”

This morning, in Isaiah, I was once again reminded of this truth. Literally surrounded by passages of God’s coming judgment on man’s sin, Isaiah said, “[God] will swallow up death forever; and the LORD GOD will wipe away tears from all faces….for the LORD has spoken.” (25:8)

One scholar had this to say about this passage: “God will REMOVE the sorrow associated with death. Revelation alludes to the tender actions of this verse twice – once in 7:17 to describe the bliss of the redeemed in heaven, and once in 21:4 to describe the new Jerusalem.”

A few verses later, in 26:3-4, Isaiah continues, “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast [fixed on You], because they trust in You. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal [literally, “Rock of Ages”].”

“…O LORD, my ROCK and my REDEEMER.” (Psalm 19:14)

Soli Deo Gloria, Nick