𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗠-𝗨𝗣
• Do you like nature? What about it do you enjoy the most?
• What is your comfort food? Why do you like it so much?
• Whose voice or words comfort you the most? Recall an instance explaining this.

𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗗
𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵, 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦, 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘎𝘰𝘥. 𝘚𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘑𝘦𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘮, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘧𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋’𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘴. 𝘈 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴: “𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋; 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘵 𝘢 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘎𝘰𝘥.” 𝗜𝗦𝗔𝗜𝗔𝗛 𝟰𝟬:𝟭–𝟯

(Read also 𝗜𝗦𝗔𝗜𝗔𝗛 𝟰𝟬:𝟰–𝟭𝟭.)

While God’s people had a long history of stubbornness and unfaithfulness, God has a long history of consistency and faithful love. Even when they did not do what was right, God loved them still. And even in exile and judgment, God brought comfort and hope. Starting with Isaiah 40, the focus of this book shifts to hope, restoration, and victory. In this lesson, we will look at how God’s character and actions bring us comfort.

𝟭. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗸𝗲𝗻.
“𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘩 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘯.” 𝗜𝗦𝗔𝗜𝗔𝗛 𝟰𝟬:𝟱

For a child or a person in danger, a loving voice of a parent or a firm voice of a person in authority brings comfort, relief, and protection. While we may associate God’s voice with volume, He can also speak in a gentle whisper (1 Kings 19:12). Regardless of how He speaks, His word is reliable, true, and final. Through the prophet Isaiah, God comforts His people that the glory of the Lord will be seen by all together. This passage alludes to Christ, through whom God’s grace is revealed in the flesh. We know Christ through God’s word, the Bible. How do you respond when someone you trust speaks? How do you respond when God, your Creator and heavenly Father, speaks?

𝟮. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿.
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳. 𝗜𝗦𝗔𝗜𝗔𝗛 𝟰𝟬:𝟴

Nature and human life, even in all its beauty, will fade. Only God’s word will stand forever. The Bible shows us that God is faithful to fulfill all His promises. His word is both timeless and timely. It is true forever and yet very real in our daily situations. God's word meets our deepest needs and from it we find true strength and hope. This is comforting and a source of strength and hope. Share about how God’s word has been timely for you recently.

𝟯. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝘁𝗵 𝗺𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝗲.
𝘉𝘦𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘎𝘖𝘋 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘮 𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘮; 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥, 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘥; 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘴; 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘴𝘰𝘮, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨. 𝗜𝗦𝗔𝗜𝗔𝗛 𝟰𝟬:𝟭𝟬–𝟭𝟭

God loves each of us and expresses His love in response to our particular brokenness and burdens. While He allows some of us to freely dwell in His presence like sheep in pasture, He also seeks out those who are hurting and in need of reassurance. He gathers us in His arms and carries us in His bosom. This is a beautiful picture of both God’s might in leading His people and His gentleness in caring for the brokenhearted. How is God’s might and tenderness to His people reassuring? Why do you think He said, 𝘚𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘑𝘦𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘮 (Isaiah 40:1)?

In the New Testament, John the Baptist’s ministry was a fulfillment of this prophecy: “𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥; 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘵 𝘢 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘎𝘰𝘥” (Isaiah 40:3). He was referring to Jesus Christ, who is Lord and Savior, the embodiment of God’s glory, and the tangible expression of God’s love, mercy, and grace.

𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡
• In what area of your life do you need hope and comfort?
Which part of today’s lesson encouraged you to trust God?
• Do you believe the word of God stands forever? How can you go deeper in His word this week?
• Think of one person or family that needs to experience both the might and gentleness of God in this season. How can you be a blessing and encouragement to them?

𝗣𝗥𝗔𝗬𝗘𝗥
• Thank God for speaking to us and for being reliable and true. Pray you would trust Him and find comfort in Him every day.
• Lift up your situation and needs to God today. Ask Him to provide for you and fulfill His promises to you and your family.
• Pray that you would encourage others to know God and find comfort in Him this week.