December 4th

1 There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. 2 And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. 3 And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, 4 but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. 5 Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins.

In Isaiah 11:1-5, the longsuffering people of Israel are finally given hope for the future--a new Branch out of Jesse's roots. This new Branch would have wisdom and understanding and, in the words of The Living Bible, "will be clothed with fairness and truth."

How these people must have rejoiced at this promise and longed for Christ's appearance!

In different stages of our adult lives, circumstances determine how we spend our time and energy. Careers, children, grandchildren, aging parents . . . the list goes on. When I look at my life today, I know that I do not take nearly enough time to look past all that is going on around me to rejoice in the promise of Christ's return. I pray that I will do better.