𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗠-𝗨𝗣
• If you could fix one broken object you owned in the past, what would it be and why would you want to fix it?
• Have you experienced going to a place for the first time, relying completely on a navigation tool? Describe the experience and what happened when you arrived at the place.
• What keeps your home safe from strangers and burglars? How effective are these objects in making you feel safe?

𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗗
𝘛𝘩𝘶𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋: “𝘐𝘯 𝘢 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘳 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶; 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶; 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦, 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘴 . . .” 𝗜𝗦𝗔𝗜𝗔𝗛 𝟰𝟵:𝟴

(Read also 𝗜𝗦𝗔𝗜𝗔𝗛 𝟰𝟵:𝟵–𝟭𝟳.)

As a result of sin and disobedience, God’s people were taken to Babylon in chains. Defeated, they found themselves in a new land with no place to worship their God. It was for this difficult time that Isaiah spoke a word of hope, a promise of restoration from God. God wanted to assure His people that He had not forgotten them nor would He ever abandon them. In this passage, we will look at what God promised to restore for His people.

𝟭. 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲.
𝘛𝘩𝘶𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋: “𝘐𝘯 𝘢 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘳 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶; 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶; 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦, 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘴, 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴, ‘𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵,’ 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, ‘𝘈𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳.’ 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴; 𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 . . .” 𝗜𝗦𝗔𝗜𝗔𝗛 𝟰𝟵:𝟴–𝟵

Living in a foreign land as exiles, the Jews faced a very uncertain future. They didn’t know what would happen to them as a people. Isaiah’s words assured them that God will not only set them free from captivity; He will take them from darkness to light. The same God is at work in our lives today. He is bringing freedom by inviting people into a relationship with Him that is full of faith, hope, and love amidst uncertainties we may face. How have you experienced the restoration of God’s freedom and light in your own life?

𝟮. 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲.
“𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘢 𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱.” 𝗜𝗦𝗔𝗜𝗔𝗛 𝟰𝟵:𝟭𝟭

Sometimes, we find ourselves in situations that are the exact opposite of what God promised. This was the situation of the Israelites. God promised them fruitfulness and abundance in their own land, yet because of their own disobedience, they found themselves defeated in war and exiled in another nation. But God said that He will make His mountains a road and 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱, signifying the clear path that will restore His people to their homeland. God had not abandoned them and was in fact leading them to receive the inheritance and blessings He had promised to their forefathers. Likewise, we can be confident that as we allow God to lead us, we will receive our inheritance—what He promised in His word to fulfill in our lives, no matter our present circumstance. How has God’s path led you to eventually receive His blessings?

𝟯. 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲.
“𝘊𝘢𝘯 𝘢 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘯𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘣? 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵, 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘉𝘦𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥, 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴; 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘦.” 𝗜𝗦𝗔𝗜𝗔𝗛 𝟰𝟵:𝟭𝟱–𝟭𝟲

God was telling His people to look beyond their present situation. Their city may have been destroyed, but He had not forgotten them. He is always mindful of His people and is full of compassion. He is their protection. He will rebuild His people and they will feel safe again. In our own lives, things may happen that make us wonder if God is against us. But just like the Israelites, God wants to show us His compassion and protection. He will even enable us to rebuild. Why do you think God used the picture of a mother caring for her child to show His people His love and concern for them? How is God greater than even the best mom in the world?

𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡
• Are you experiencing hopelessness and fear in some areas of your life? Which passages in Scripture show God’s promises to His people that relate to your life and family right now? Write them down so you can meditate on them this week and speak hope into your situation.
• Do you have faith to see beyond present circumstances and trust that God will restore His light, inheritance, and protection for you? What are you willing to do in response to today’s message?
• Think of someone who needs to be reminded of God’s compassion and protection. Ask Him to give you the words to encourage and speak hope to him or her this week.

𝗣𝗥𝗔𝗬𝗘𝗥
• Thank God for His promise of restoration. Pray for peace and assurance that God will lead you to receive what He promised no matter what you are experiencing.
• Ask God to help you dispel any doubt from your heart, trusting that He will restore whatever the enemy has tried to take away from you. Pray that God will open your eyes and enable you to see your life through eyes of faith.
• Pray that God will give you opportunities this week to share to others how you have experienced His freedom and light.