Click this link to hear an audio version of the below text narrated by SOTH member Jerry Rhinehart:
Isaiah 40:9-11 (NIV)
9 You who bring good news to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You who bring good news to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with a shout, lift it up, do not be afraid; say to the towns of Judah, “Here is your God!” 10 See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power, and he rules with a mighty arm. See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him. 11 He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.
What an awesome picture of our Lord God: he comes in power and might (v.10)! Yet, this strength is tempered with compassion as he “gathers the lamb in his arms” (v.11). This duality in God’s nature shouldn’t really be surprising, but it still catches me off guard. If God is all-powerful and his authority is unending, then why would he care for the meek and lowly with such loving kindness? It is this power clothed in compassion that helps us understand why God would send his son, Jesus. While God has the power and authority to set the world right with the stroke of his hand, he seeks to gather us to himself first. God calls us back, seeking a relationship with us, seeking that all his creation would come to know him as savior and Lord. Let us thank God for his compassion and grace and praise him for his mercy and might. Amen.