by Pastor Douglas Brauner

Waiting on God in Troubled Times

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

Black Forest Regional Park, Colorado Springs, Colorado

Hundreds of trees have been replanted in the burn scar of Black Forest, Colorado. I still remember heading north on Union Boulevard near Circle Drive and seeing the plumb of smoke rising in the gusty Colorado winds.

I felt certain that we were in trouble.

Years later, humans are helping reestablish the trees in the park. Hundreds of saplings have been replanted with the best of intentions that the forest will rebound. However, it seems that a majority of these trees have died before they took root.

“I will wait for the LORD, who hides his face from the descendants of Jacob. I will hope in him.”
Isaiah 8:17 God’s Word to the Nations

When Isaiah wrote these words, the people of Israel were looking to the dead to guide the living (Isaiah 8:19). All Isaiah could see were dead trees, people who had turned their backs on the living God. Yet, in the midst of these dead trees Isaiah would still wait for the Lord and put his hope in him.

Maybe it feels like all we can see today are dead trees. We see people seeking to find hope in places that will only disappoint them, people who are trying to find hope in relationships, trying to find hope in the government, trying to find hope in their own strength.

It’s a struggle not to follow in their footsteps.

When everyone else was scampering about frantically looking for hope, Isaiah patiently waited for the Lord to act. His hope was nourished by God. Even though his own people turned against him, he stayed rooted in God.

With a pandemic and protests engulfing us, it’s time for us to wait on the Lord and put our hope in him. Waiting doesn’t mean sitting on our hands. Isaiah was a person of action, yet he waited for God, not for people. May our hope remain in the God who so deeply loves us and whose Son promised to be with us “even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20)

By the way, there are some saplings in Black Forest that are thriving.

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado