Daily Devotional For Thursday, July 23,2026
Good morning Southside! Thank you for joining us in our daily devotional. Our devotional for today comes from Isaiah 40:1-5:
“Comfort, comfort my people,” says your God. (2) “Speak tenderly to Jerusalem. Tell her that her sad days are gone and her sins are pardoned. Yes, the LORD has punished her twice over for all her sins.” (3) Listen! It’s the voice of someone shouting, “Clear the way through the wilderness for the LORD! Make a straight highway through the wasteland for our God! (4) Fill in the valleys, and level the mountains and hills. Straighten the curves, and smooth out the rough places. (5) Then the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all people will see it together. The LORD has spoken!” (NLT).
This is one of the greatest chapters in the Bible. The language of these 5 verses questions the arrogance of human pride. For 39 chapters Isaiah has exposed the corruption and sins of both Israel and Judah. In chapter 40, a promise of God’s glory and kindness to Israel was coming. A future Messiah would be coming in the future after all the punishment God had brought on them.
What we see here is that faith is not all struggles; it is sometimes release, good news and new beginnings. This passage reminds us that one of God’s deepest desires for us is comfort. We see this in the words of Jesus in Matthew 11:28-30. The Gospel is not all about our sins. If it were, we would have no hope or comfort. Do we sin? Yes! Does God make us experience the consequences of our sin? Yes! Then comes His comfort through our repentance.
But once that disciplining has done its work, God comes to comfort us. Psalm 103:14 says, “For He knows how weak we are; He remembers we are only dust” (NLT). In my home we sweep up the dust and discard it. Our God sweeps us up with His love, grace, kindness, and comfort. The Apostle Paul reminds us of this in Romans 2:4, “Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that His kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?” (NLT). The reason for God’s continued comfort is our sin and failure.
Verses 3-5 remind us that the King is coming and He comes to where we are: in the wilderness. This is the point in Luke 3:1-18. Jesus our King is coming and we are to be ready for His arrival. This reminds us that God will accomplish His will through Jesus Christ. Verses 3-5 are more than just about geography and topography. These verses are metaphors of how the future coming salvation of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, is going to level the playing field for everyone. No longer will anyone have to rely on the Law to save them. No longer will anyone have to rely on a priest to God for them. Everyone is on equal ground when it comes to salvation. Old Testament scholar, Ray Ortlund, writes this:
“He is talking about the disruptive advance of salvation. He is saying that lifting and lowering and leveling and smoothing are necessary to the kingdom of Christ. He is talking about depression being relieved, pride being flattened, troubled personalities becoming placid, and difficult people becoming easy to get along with. And he is also implying that if we cling to the status quo and refuse God’s upsetting but constructive salvation, we risk having no part with Christ” (Source: Raymond C. Ortlund, “Revival: Blessing or Problem?," Reformation & Revival Journal 11, pp. 10–17).
Finally, this passage promises that the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ will be revealed to the whole world (vs. 5). Do you know what the glory of the Lord is? In Scripture the glory of the Lord is seen on fiery radiance displayed on Mt. Sinai (Ex. 24:17). The glory of the Lord is the fiery chariot coming down from heaven in Ezekiel’s vision (Ezek. 1:4-28). The glory of the Lord was shone to the shepherds, scaring them on a hill at the birth of Jesus (Luke 2:9). The Bible says that Jesus is the glory of God (John 1:14). We see the glory of the Lord in Jesus’ transfiguration (Luke 9:28-36). The glory of God was seen of Jesus’ body on the cross (John 13:31). The glory of God is seen in the coming of Holy Spirit (Sadly, for most Christians they have no idea or even care about the glory of God. Pastor and author John Piper writes this:
“In the church, our view of God is so small instead of huge, so marginal instead of crucial, so vague instead of clear, so impotent instead of all determining, and so uninspiring instead of ravishing that the responsibility to live to the glory of God is a thought without content. The words can come out of our mouths, but ask the average Christian to tell what they know about the glory of this God that they are going to live for, and the answer will not be long” (Source: John Piper, “A Passion for the Supremacy of God,” Spirit of Revival, March 2002, p. 5).
The glory of God becoming visible, bringing His presence down to us, displaying His beauty and glory to us, which meets out deepens longings. This is the central promise of the Gospel – God coming down to us. God kept His promise 2,000 years ago with the birth of Jesus (vs. 5). God will do this again with the Second Coming of Jesus. But in between these two, God has come down to us through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit to those who are His. These 5 verses remind us that God never forsakes His people. They are never alone, ever (Matt. 28:20b; John 14:16-17).
Reflection Assignment: Prior to this devotional, what was the glory of God to you and why? Having read this devotional, as your view changed? If so, how? Do you live your life in the awareness of always being in the presence of God’s glory? If not, why? When have you experienced the glory of the Lord in an impactful way in your life?
Scripture To Meditate On: 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, “All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. (4) He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us” (NLT).
Prayer To Pray: “Dear Lord, please use me to comfort those with Your comfort. I want people to experience Your glory through Your comfort and Your salvation. Use me Lord to be that instrument to others for Your glory. I love You Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly