The Gifts only God Can Give: The Gift of Hope - (Isaiah 40: 1-11) by Pastor Paul Jacks

Devotional

Day 1: Prepare the way: make hearts ready for God.

The people are invited to prepare a straight road for the Lord by softening hardened places in their hearts and rolling out the red carpet for his coming, not merely as a ritual but as a lived readiness. This passage calls for tenderness and comfort to a people who will experience exile and return, reminding believers that God speaks to restore and complete what sin interrupted. In Advent and in everyday waiting, the work is inward—making valleys level and mountains low so the glory of the Lord can be plainly seen in and through his people. [08:25]

Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her 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. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken."

Reflection: This week, what one habit will you begin and what one habit will you stop so you can "prepare the way" for the Lord in your daily life (a practical, measurable change you can name)?

Day 2: Earthly life fades; God's word endures forever.

The image of grass and flowers reminds the congregation that human life and earthly beauty are seasonal and fragile, but the promises of God do not fade. Hope rests not on wishful thinking but on the confident expectation that God's word endures beyond every season, every generation, and every trial. Let this truth reshape priorities: invest in what lasts, teach your children the lasting promises, and anchor anxious hearts in the eternality of God's word. [14:44]

A voice said, "Cry!" And I said, "What shall I cry?" All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the LORD blows on it; surely the people are grass.

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.

Reflection: List two specific promises God has already kept in your life; how does writing those down change the way you face a current worry this week?

Day 3: Good news: God comes as shepherd and king.

The proclamation to "lift up your voice" is a call to herald the coming of a God who comes both in power and in gentleness—ruling with a mighty arm while carrying the lambs close to his heart. This is the God who gathers, carries, and gently leads; he is the good shepherd whose coming exposes his glory among the people. Live so the world can see that glory—treat others with the care you long to receive so that the gospel is visible in everyday kindness. [20:37]

"O Zion, who brings good news? Get up on a high mountain, O Zion, bearer of good news; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, bearer of good news; lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah, 'Behold your God!'

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."

Reflection: Name one person you struggle to treat kindly; what is one concrete act of compassion you will do for them this week to show the glory of Christ?

Day 4: God's greatness dwarfs nations and human power.

The rhetorical questions about measuring the waters and weighing the mountains underscore that no human ruler, nation, or idol comes close to God's wisdom, power, or understanding. Nations are like drops from a bucket and dust on a scale compared to his sovereignty, so trusting in country, status, or crafted idols is ultimately empty. Remembering God's incomparability frees believers from misplaced confidence and redirects hope to the one who calls each star by name and never misses a single moment. [24:03]

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance?

Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, or as his counselor has instructed him? Whom did he consult, and who made him understand? Who taught him the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding?

Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as the dust on the scales; behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust.

Reflection: Identify one "idol" (career, security, nation, relationship) you find yourself leaning on; what is one practical step you will take this week to re-center your trust on God instead?

Day 5: God fills believers with overflowing hope.

Romans reminds the congregation that God is the very source of hope who fills his people with joy and peace as they trust him, and the Holy Spirit empowers an overflow of hope. When anxiety creeps in, the remedy is not willpower but turning to the Spirit who replenishes confidence in God's promises; do a quick inventory of God's past faithfulness to combat spiritual amnesia. Commit to daily dependence—pray, remember, and let the Spirit pour hope into the places where fear tries to settle. [26:42]

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Reflection: What single anxious thought will you bring to the Holy Spirit in prayer every morning this week, and which Scripture will you read each day to replace that fear with hope?

Sermon Summary

Last week we leaned into the peace Jesus gives; today I invited us to receive the gift of hope. Not wishful thinking—“I hope there’s not a line”—but a confident expectation rooted in God’s unbreakable promises. Isaiah 40 lets us eavesdrop as God comforts a people who would soon face exile: “Your hard service has been completed.” Even before the hardship arrives, God is already preparing their recovery. That’s hope: God’s character and promises are already out ahead of us in our wilderness.

Isaiah also calls us to “prepare the way of the Lord.” In the ancient world, crews would level roads for a dignitary; that’s the picture. Our “red carpet” for Jesus isn’t velvet—it’s our lives. Straight paths look like humility, repentance, and love that confounds our culture. When we treat even our enemies as neighbors and become a sane voice in a loud world, “the glory of the Lord will be revealed.”

Then Isaiah tells the truth about us and about God: we are grass; God’s Word endures forever. Our seasons change, our strength fades, our plans wither—but His promises don’t. That is the granite under our feet: He will never leave or forsake us; His love is everlasting; His grace is sufficient; His peace surpasses understanding. He tends us like a shepherd and carries us close to His heart.

Isaiah pulls back the veil on God’s greatness: He measures oceans in His hand, names every star, and reduces proud nations to a drop in the bucket. Idols glitter, but cannot save. When I remember who God is, my anxieties shrink to size. Hope rises not from my ability to manage outcomes, but from His power, wisdom, and faithfulness.

So I prayed Romans 15:13 over us: May the God of hope fill us with all joy and peace as we trust Him, so we overflow with hope by the Spirit’s power. When fear or fatigue brings “spiritual amnesia,” remember His record in your life. Ask the Spirit to bring it to mind again. The only thing that finally matters is our relationship with Jesus. Live close to Him, and let His glory be revealed through you.

Key Takeaways

1. Hope is confident, not wishful Biblical hope is not crossing our fingers; it is anchoring our future in God’s character and promises. Confidence grows as we learn His record across history and in our lives. The more we rehearse who He is, the less we’re tossed by what we feel. [02:31]
2. Prepare the way with your life Level paths for Jesus by repentance, integrity, and love that disrupts the norms of retaliation. Our everyday choices “roll out the red carpet,” making His glory visible to others. Holiness is not hiding; it is hospitality to the coming King. [08:25]
3. Mortality meets an enduring Word We are seasonal like grass, but God’s Word outlives every season and saint. Anchor your expectations in what cannot fade—His promises. Let Scripture, not circumstances, set the horizon of your hope. [14:44]
4. Remember God’s immeasurable greatness Anxieties often balloon when God seems small. Isaiah enlarges our view: the One who names the stars is shepherding you. Let worship re-size your worries and return your heart to wonder. [24:03]
5. Overflow with hope by the Spirit Hope is not mustered; it is received. As we trust, the Spirit fills and overflows us with joy and peace. Ask Him to cure spiritual amnesia and awaken remembrance of God’s faithfulness. [26:42]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[02:31] - Defining biblical hope vs. wishing
[05:26] - Setting Isaiah 40’s context and imagery
[08:25] - “Prepare the way” and the red carpet
[11:47] - Shekinah glory and everyday readiness
[14:44] - Grass withers; Word endures forever
[17:37] - Promises that ground our hope
[20:37] - The Good Shepherd’s tender care
[24:03] - God’s matchless greatness over nations and idols
[26:42] - Romans 15:13: Overflowing hope by the Spirit
[29:43] - Pastoral prayer: confessing and trusting
[32:46] - Closing: Glory revealed through our lives

Bible Study Guide

Bible reading (ESV)
Isaiah 40

1 Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.
2 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.
3 A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain.
5 And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
6 A voice says, “Cry!” And I said, “What shall I cry?” All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field.
7 The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the LORD blows on it; surely the people are grass.
8 The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.
9 O Zion, herald of good news, lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good news; lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!”
10 Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.
11 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.
12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance?
13 Who has measured the Spirit of the LORD, or what man shows him his counsel?
14 Whom did he consult, and who made him understand? Who taught him the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding?
15 Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as the dust on the scales; behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust.
16 Lebanon would not suffice for fuel, nor its beasts suffice for a burnt offering.
17 All the nations are as nothing before him, they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness.
18 To whom then will you liken God, or what likeness compare with him?
19 An idol! A craftsman casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and casts for it silver chains.
20 He who is too impoverished for an offering picks up wood and he is merciful; he seeks out a skillful craftsman to set up an idol that will not move.
21 Do you not know? Do you not hear? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
22 It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain and spreads them like a tent to dwell in;
23 who brings princes to nothing, and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness.
24 Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their stem taken root, than he blows on them and they wither, and the tempest carries them off like stubble.
25 To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him? says the Holy One.
26 Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name; by the greatness of his might, and because he is strong in power not one is missing.
27 Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the LORD, and my right is disregarded by my God”?
28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.
29 He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.
30 Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted;
31 but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

Observation questions (close reading)

Read Isaiah 40:1–2 and 9–11. What concrete promises of comfort and care are given to the people? Which images stand out as tender or assuring?
Read Isaiah 40:3–5. What actions and images are used to describe “preparing the way” for the Lord? What would it mean, in ordinary life, to “make straight a highway” for God? [08:25]
Read Isaiah 40:6–8. How does the passage contrast human life with God’s Word? Which words or phrases emphasize permanence versus transience?
Read Isaiah 40:12–26. What attributes of God are listed in these verses (power, knowledge, sovereignty, etc.)? Which image here is most helpful for reducing personal anxiety, and why? [24:03]

Interpretation questions (thinking through meaning)

The call to “prepare the way” is rooted in the image of leveling paths for a dignitary. How should this image shape the group’s understanding of holiness as both inward humility and outward witness? Be specific about what kinds of attitudes and actions “level the path.” [08:25]
The text insists that “the word of our God endures forever” right after saying “all flesh is grass.” What does this sequence say about where one should place ultimate security and identity? How might that change short-term decision‑making?
Isaiah emphasizes God’s measurement of the seas and naming of the stars. How should a clearer view of God’s greatness affect a believer’s response to fear and fatigue? Give one or two concrete emotional or spiritual shifts that should follow. [24:03]
Romans 15:13 speaks of overflowing with hope by the power of the Spirit. How should the promise of Spirit‑filled hope affect the group’s expectations about personal effort, prayer, and memory of God’s past faithfulness? [26:42]

Application questions (personal, practical)

Hope is a confident expectation rooted in God’s promises. Name two specific promises from Scripture or from your own life-history that have been true for you. When worry comes, how will you remind yourself of those promises this week? [02:31]
“Prepare the way” calls for humility, repentance, and love that confounds the culture. Pick one relationship (a neighbor, a coworker, a family member) where you can demonstrate that kind of love this week. What exact step will you take to “level the path” for God in that relationship? [08:25]
The Bible says people are like grass but God’s Word endures. What two Bible verses will you memorize or post somewhere this week to anchor your expectations when circumstances change? Where will you place them and when will you rehearse them?
When God’s greatness seems distant and anxieties grow, what worship practice will you use to “resize” God in your heart (singing, naming God’s acts, telling testimony, reading Isaiah 40:12–26)? Decide when and how often you will do it this week, and who will hold you accountable. [24:03]
The Spirit fills believers so they overflow with hope. Pray right now asking the Spirit to bring to mind one specific example when God helped you. Share that memory with someone in the group and agree to remind each other of another memory before the next meeting. [26:42]
The glory of the Lord is revealed through how people treat one another. Name one everyday habit (speech, social media, workplace behavior, parenting) that you will change this week so others might see God’s glory through you. What is the first concrete action you will take? [11:47]

Sermon Clips

gifts that only God can give last week we looked at the gift of peace and not just any peace a peace that passes all understanding peace that when things are going crazy and awry around you we are assured of comfort because we know God is in control this week we want to look at the gift of hope (29 seconds) #GiftOfHope

what would it look like if we treated everybody like we wanted to be treated like the scripture tells us to treat everybody even the people that don't like usit the glory of the Lord will be revealed to all what if what if we were a voice of reason to a society and to a culture that teaches us to do the opposite we might get criticized but the glory of the Lord will be revealed [00:13:31] (33 seconds) #TreatOthersAsYouWould

and and so so when we see a promising in scripture thatpromise ain't just good for me that promise is gonna live well after me and if I can be any kind of father I want to teach my kids that the glory of the Lord will be revealed and that his word will last forever it will last past me and they will get to be able to experience the promises of God as well that his promises don't stop and that's that's what the hope is that's what hope is from that's the foundation of hope is that his word lasts forever [00:16:30] (40 seconds) #PromisesBeyondMe

you know because you know why when we die we get to be with him forever so so it's just a matter of are we gonna be with him on this side or that side see the the thing is we're with him nowEmmanuel God is with us he he's set up shop in our hearts the Holy Spirit has come to indwell us God is with us every day every moment you can't live this life without God [00:17:24] (27 seconds) #EmmanuelWithUs

we use terms that should only be attributed to God and we use it for other things like we like to say that today was an amazing day no no only God is amazing we we like to to talk about greatness in terms of what people can do no only God is great and see when we remember that when we rememberand we take that to heart then that is when we'll understand the hope that God has for us [00:26:02] (30 seconds) #OnlyGodIsGreat

new creationi want us to overflow with hope this advent season and we overflow with hope through the power of the holy spirit because we are confident that God's word will not return void we're confident that his word will last forever and it's not his word that's that's powerful it's him and it's the person who says it is trustworthy [00:27:26] (28 seconds) #AdventOverflowHope

``when we when we have anxiety and when we have troubles we have we we suffer from a condition called spiritual amnesia we forget what God has done for us we forget who God is and we forget all ofthe things that he has promised to us and so new creation when you get down on yourself you start to lose hope pray to the holy spirit because he says he will over he will fill you with overflowing hope through the power of the holy spirit and it's all because of God and who he is [00:28:20] (39 seconds) #OverflowingHope

i don't want you just to use the words i want you tothink about the words just calling God we we say God is good all the time and all the time God is good we say these things so much it don't mean much to us no more i want you to just think about who God is and i want you to ascribe whatever words you can to him because i want it to mean something to you that when you go through any hardship or trial you will have hope because God is great [00:29:41] (29 seconds) #MeanWhatYouSayGodIsGood

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The Gifts only God Can Give: The Gift of Hope - (Isaiah 40: 1-11) by Pastor Paul Jacks

Devotional

Day 1: Prepare the way: make hearts ready for God.

Day 2: Earthly life fades; God's word endures forever.

Day 3: Good news: God comes as shepherd and king.

Day 4: God's greatness dwarfs nations and human power.

Day 5: God fills believers with overflowing hope.

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

Chatbot

The Gifts only God Can Give: The Gift of Hope - (Isaiah 40: 1-11) by Pastor Paul Jacks

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