You may be familiar with the phrase, "Hope springs eternal". It brings to mind images of a high school graduation when the valedictorian is giving their speech through the frames of rose colored glasses. Everything is ideallic and the future looks positive without any chance of a problem.
This was true for Israel at the time of Isaiah. Life was prosperous. "Life is good" to quote a current commercial. And yet on the horizon was the country of Assyria about to be used by God for the judgement of Israel who had for a long time been worshipping idols. Assyria was about to violently remove the people of Israel from their homeland.
In the face of these desperate conditions, God spoke through Isaiah and promised hope. Isaiah 49 is about a promise of the messiah, the servant of God. It is a promise that says that no matter how bad Israel is, how far they stray from God, He will always be drawing them back to Him. And not only Israel, but also the Gentiles.
God doesn’t give up on us. Thankfully, He has never given up on me. I can look back on my 62 years of living and see how God has continually been at work through people and circumstances that He has brought into my life to bring me closer to Him.
In the world, people hope that things will turn out ok. They hope the Buckeyes will win. They hope their boss will change. They hope their children will behave. They hope their marriage will improve. But as Christians, God has made a promise, and in that promise our hope is in the knowledge that He is a loving and sovereign God.
In Isaiah 49:23 God promises, "Then you will know that I am the Lord; those who hope in me will not be disappointed". Our hope is based on his promise. We will not be disappointed. That doesn’t mean that everything will turn out the way we want it. But it does mean that God will always be there with us.
Isaiah 49:26 says, "then all mankind will know that I, the Lord, am your Savior, your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob". Thanks be to God.
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=isaiah%2049&version=NIV;MSG
http://www.biblegateway.com/audio/mclean/niv/Isa.49
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