A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots, a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord— and he will delight in the fear of the Lord. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes or decide by what he hears with his ears; but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips, he will slay the wicked. Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.

Isaiah 11:1-5

My middle name is Roy. Before you laugh, realize for our family, that name means a lot to us. I am named after one of my heroes—my grandfather. He was the smartest and wisest man I ever knew. He taught me how to fish in the Gulf of Mexico and crab in the Atlantic. He seemed to know something about everything. He also served and loved us grandkids well, always caring for us. I loved visiting him and my grandmother for Christmas. Every Christmas, he would always cook breakfast for a gazillion grandkids and would tell us corny jokes. He was always larger than life to me. Later in life, Alzheimer’s and dementia would steal him away from us. On one of his last holidays with us, when he was pretty much gone, only one of our three sons would sit in his lap calmly. Both were content as I watched my grandfather play with his great-grandson’s toes. Of course, that one grandson happened to be the one we named after him—Camden Roy.

Our devotional passage for today talks about the lineage of Jesse, who happens to be King David’s dad and Solomon’s grandfather. Isaiah is reminding his audience that God will not abandon His promises. The promised Messiah is coming! When the promised Messiah does come, He will be known by several qualities.

Jesus brings to the world and our lives today the following things:

1. Wise and understanding leadership

2. Might and discernment to carry out his plans

3. Understanding and pursuing the paths that lead to a deep, reverent awe of God

4. Deep joy in simply living faithfully before God

5. Making just decisions

6. Living with consistent integrity

Often, during this time of year, it can be easy to focus on all of the problems in the world. It is easy to get discouraged by the lack of control we have, the selfishness of leaders around us, the impatience and rush of the world around us, the hypocrisy of justice applied, and the lack of integrity in day-to-day life around us. For some of us, it can be a time of grieving and missing those who were close to us, like my grandfather. Often, it just does not seem fair. I know, I know . . .life is not fair, so get over it. That sentiment never really helped me.

But today’s passage answers my heart with a resounding call that God will not abandon his promises. So, take heart! Isaiah 11:1-5 teaches us to turn our eyes to the promised Messiah. Israel was encouraged to stay faithful while waiting for the birth of Jesus and all that he would bring to the world. Today, we can have a relationship with the Messiah and rest on those same promises. God will not abandon us in our discouragement and despair. He will not abandon us in our grief.

There are days I still mourn the loss of my grandfather. There are days I mourn the condition of the world around me that my children are growing up in. It is on those days I remember that God will not abandon his promises. We get to celebrate the biggest promise ever—the birth of the promised Messiah. God promised light and salvation through the birth of Jesus, and we get to live out the reality of that promise today. Take heart!

Chris Cooper