A Present Help — In Every Situation
The Lord God almighty was speaking to His prophet about the situations His people were facing. God wants all of His people to know that He has come to minister to them regardless of the situation or the extent of their distress. Listen carefully as God gives this message of comfort and divine supply and support.
Isaiah 40:1–2 NKJV “Comfort, yes, comfort My people!” Says your God. “Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her, That her warfare is ended, That her iniquity is pardoned; For she has received from the Lord’s hand Double for all her sins.”
Isaiah 40:3 NKJV The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord; Make straight in the desert A highway for our God.
Isaiah 40:4–5 NKJV Every valley shall be exalted And every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight And the rough places smooth; The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, And all flesh shall see it together; For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
God told Isaiah to tell you that God has done everything that is necessary to help you in your current situation.
God has everything under control. The LORD wanted the prophet to share this message of comfort to His people. Whatever has brought you to this place in life, regardless of the height, depth, or difficulty of the situation, God has specific help for where you live. He knows all about your valley or your mountain. He knows about the crooked and rough places. Not only does God know, He is prepared to do something supernatural and miraculous in your life. Sometimes in life we all get down in a valley low and not know how to get out, or up against a mountain high and not be able to get over. We have traveled down crooked and rough places.
God is saying that He is prepared to help you in every situation in your life.
If you are languishing in your valley, He will pull you out. If your progress is stymied or hindered because you are up against a mountain you cannot climb, God knows how to bring that mountain low. He knows how to straighten out the crooked places and make the rough places smooth. God is prepared to help you where you live. He is going to give you newness of life in Christ and help and comfort in the Holy Spirit.
The Lord told Isaiah several things that He wants you to know.
Jesus Christ has taken us up and has borne our sins and carried our sorrows.
We need to see exactly what that means in our everyday lives. Amid all of the troubles, trials, and perplexities that we face, we have a Savior. He is the Ransom and Rescue for our souls. He is the Redeemer and Refuge we can run to in our time of trouble. When you run to God in your distresses, He brings relief to you in Christ Jesus. Through Jesus Christ, your valley is exalted and your mountain is brought low. Those crooked places are made straight and the rough places are made smooth.
What does this mean in your current situation?
When God gave this word to Isaiah, His people were suffering because of sin. The first half of Isaiah dealt with the burdens of judgment that came upon a disobedient people. When God said, “Her warfare is ended” marks a change from their previous situation.
God has specific and detailed help for you.
Romans 8:2 NKJV For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.
What does that mean in our lives?
There are lasting consequences of sin. It is most difficult for us to imagine what it truly means to be free from the powers of sin and death.
Adam and Eve and all creation had lived in perfect harmony with God.
Can you imagine everything in your life being without conflict or strife. There was no pain in child birth. There was no labor in work. There were no heartaches, struggles, strife or death. Everything was peaceful and good. Adam and Eve walked and lived in God’s blessing and favor. Everything on the earth was given to them and worked in harmony with them and with God. To increase their joy, peace and prosperity, God planted a garden and put them in it. Every pleasant tree grew in the garden and God provided everything they needed. Can you imagine living without pain, sorrow and death? Can you imagine having no need or shortage? Can you imagine not having a worry or a care? Can you imagine? Life was good! It sounds like heaven to me.
As soon as sin entered, life became perverted, distorted, rough, and crooked.
Things that had been easy were now painful and hard. Sorrow, burdens and distresses entered into their lives. The ground became cursed and labor became difficult. Thorns and thistles took over their fertile fields. Life became hard when death and sorrow were introduced.
Romans 8:2 NKJV For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.
How can we acquire a life that overcomes the world?
1 John 5:4–5 NKJV For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
We should start with this. If we are going to overcome, we need Jesus in our lives. Without Jesus, we are up against mountains we cannot climb and valleys we cannot cross. Without Jesus, we have crooked and rough paths. Everything is difficult, if not impossible, if Christ is not in our lives. I am not going to tell you that you will have a trouble free life after you accept Christ as your Savior. I am going to tell you that you have an Advocate in heaven Who will intercede to the Father for you and will help you in all of your distresses.
1 John 5:13 NKJV These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.
1 John 5:14–15 NKJV Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.
Consider the confidence that we have in Christ.
This confidence is a direct result of our connection and life in Christ. In Christ Jesus, we have the solution for where we live.
Ephesians 3 shows the vast riches of what has been accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.
What God has accomplished through Jesus Christ has demonstrated the manifold wisdom of God.
Think about this.
What God is doing in you is a demonstration of His vast wisdom and knowledge. This revelation is being made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places. What God is doing in you is in accord with His own eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. God is leading you in triumph in Christ and through you He is spreading and making known the fragrance of Christ everywhere.
Ephesians 3:12 NKJV In Whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him.
When you are being held up and supported by Christ, you can stand in complete confidence. Through Jesus Christ, we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand. (Romans 5:2) Hold firm to the confidence that you have in Christ.
Ephesians 1:11-12 HCSB We have also received an inheritance in Him, predestined according to the purpose of the One who works out everything in agreement with the decision of His will, so that we who had already put our hope in the Messiah might bring praise to His glory.
Do you hear what the Holy Spirit is saying to you?
Since you have been accepted in Christ and God is working everything in agreement with His will, do not lose heart. God has invested Himself in your life.
Philippians 1:6 NKJV Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 10:35 NKJV Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward.
Do you really believe that God has your best interest in mind? Do you believe that He is able to help you where you live?
Isaiah was given this word of prophecy for those who put their trust in Jesus Christ.
Isaiah 40:4-5 NKJV Every valley shall be exalted and every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight and the rough places smooth; The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
Do you see what God has provided for you in Christ?
He will lift you up with Christ. He will supply all of your need through Christ. What He has done, He will continue doing in you. He is producing the victory that overcomes the world in you.
What are you to do in your current situation?
So, you have faced a mountain that you cannot climb! You are down in a valley that is consuming your joy! You feel stuck, hindered, and encumbered with a load of care. Listen to the word that comes out of the mouth of God! God has provided victory for you in Christ. He has provided the answer and deliverance you need. God is going to help you. Put your trust and faith in God, He has already provided a way for you.
Listen to a Word from God.
Isaiah 48:17 NKJV Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, The Holy One of Israel: “I am the Lord your God, Who teaches you to profit, Who leads you by the way you should go.”
How are you going to make it over your mountain? How are you going to get out of that valley? God wants to speak a word of comfort to you. He wants you to know that in Christ Jesus, He is bringing an end to your warfare. He wants you to know that your iniquity has been pardoned. He wants you to know that instead of your shame you shall have double honor. He has paid more than double for all your sins. He wants you to know that instead of confusion, you will rejoice in your portion. The Lord has a clear word of prophecy for you. He said, He will make the crooked places straight. He said, He will smooth out the rough places. He said, He would lift up every valley. He said, every mountain will be brought low. As He does this, the glory of the Lord shall be revealed. (Isaiah 40:4-5)
Then the Lord said how He will do this.
Isaiah 40:10-11 NKJV Behold, the Lord God shall come with a strong hand, And His arm shall rule for Him; Behold, His reward is with Him, And His work before Him. He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, And carry them in His bosom, And gently lead those who are with young.
God is able to do this with your situation. He told Isaiah to give you this message that qualifies His power to intervene in your life.
Isaiah 40:12 NLT Who else has held the oceans in His hand? Who has measured off the heavens with His fingers? Who else knows the weight of the earth or has weighed the mountains and hills on a scale?
God said: “I will do it in Christ.” God is going to exercise all of His power to help you where you live through Jesus Christ.
