Daily Readings for Week 1 (Nov. 30-Dec. 6)

*These are all the scriptures referenced in the Advent Reading for Week 1.

Day 1:

Read Psalm 46:10 (or all of Psalm 46, if you have time)

Living in a world of chaos, in the middle of circumstances beyond our control, is not new.

Apparently, it was the experience of the person that wrote this psalm thousands of years

ago. What’s going on in your world right now that feels like a battle? Or chaos? Or

circumstances that are important but out of your control?

The Lord’s command is clear in the middle of all of this: be still. Know that I am God.

Read Psalm 91:7-10

The writer of this psalm claims some bold promises of God. He doesn’t deny that we find

ourselves in the middle of a battle. But God promises, you are safe. You may see others

going down all around you, but inside of him, the danger can not actually come near you.

What dangers do you see in the lives of people around you that seem to be defeating them?

What dangers are you afraid will defeat you–will steal life and joy from you? Listen to the

Lord as he promises that if you choose to dwell in him, no harm will come near you.

Knowing and trusting this is the only way our hearts and minds can escape the chaos of this

world and this season and truly be still. Ask him to work in you to create his holy stillness.

Take a minute and a deep breath and ask the Lord for the gift of stillness in your mind and

heart. Ask him to put your thoughts in order according to his truth and to fill you with the

knowledge of what it means to KNOW he is God.

Day 2:

Read Isaiah 40: 1-5

This message comes to God’s people while a king is reigning who does not care what

happens to his nation as long as it happens after his lifetime. But God seems to tell them

that this does not matter–that whether or not they are okay does not depend on what’s

going on in the world around them, but rather on what their standing is with him. He says their

wrongdoings, their iniquity, is pardoned. They won’t be punished for it. That the war against them

is already over. Their earthly leaders may be callous and corrupt, but God is speaking comfort and

tenderness to them. As a matter of fact, he says He’s coming to them! Right in the middle of their

mess, in their wilderness with no order, no safety, He’s coming.He tells them it’s time, right now,

to prepare a broad highway for him. And he says they will get to see him for who he really is,

in his glory, glory so big that no one will be able to miss it. He promises.

Make no mistake–God is calling us, right now, today, to make space for him in our messy

lives. To expect him to come, imminently, in power and glory, to our lives in the here and

now. Ask the Lord to make this message personal for you today. Ask him to show you how

and when and where you can make space in your day, in your life to welcome him in. Ask

him to help you expect for him to show his glory in your life, and ask him for eyes to see

when he does.

Day 3:

Read Isaiah 40: 9-11

Just like the prophet Isaiah told God’s people to do thousands of years ago, today we can

also turn our attention to God–look at him, see his incredible strength. And we can also

know his tenderness. Isaiah told the people God was sending a shepherd to tend them

attentively, to carry them close to his heart, to lead them gently. Spoiler alert: that Savior is

Jesus, and he is actively, today caring for his flock, his beloved ones, all who have trusted

him with their lives.

Are you aware that you have the Lord’s full attention? Can you hear his heartbeat as he

holds you close like a shepherd carries a lamb? For centuries, his people waited to see him

face to face. He promised he would come close to us, and he has! Do you know his

nearness? Ask him to make his nearness and his care for you very real and recognizable

Today.

Day 4:

Read Isaiah 40: 28-31

Has December already worn you out? Or maybe the year, in general, as it draws to a close?

Do you find yourself, at some level, working frantically to figure out how to make all the

necessary, important things happen, as if it’s all up to you?

There is bad news and good. The bad news: it is, actually, all too much for you. All the truly

important things? You can’t make them happen. The good news–and it’s very good news?

You were never supposed to. You were never strong enough. You did not have the energy,

even when you were younger. The things we get to do that matter, they happen when we

wait on the Lord. Be still and wait. Like an eagle spreading its wings and riding on the

breeze, we can open our lives up to the Lord and let him give us power and direction. Take

a minute to be quiet before the Lord and ask him to guide your life, your day, your thoughts

and actions. Ask him to use you to accomplish his purposes. Ask him to help you rely on

him for the energy and strength to walk through your day as he leads.

God’s prophets promised He would come to intervene in spite of our mess, to save us from

our mess. This gave God’s people hope. Today, we live in the hope of God’s promise to

intervene in our lives, where we are, right now. We stop trying to arrange things on our

own, hold our hands up, and invite him–come.

Day 5:

Read Isaiah 30:15-18

God tells his people something that sounds completely opposite of reality in this passage.

When enemy armies approach, and an attack is imminent, he tells them that building up

their armies or finding fast horses for escape are not the ways to save themselves. He asks

them to trust beyond what they can physically see and understand, and to return to

dependence and devotion to him. To quietly rest in him and let him act on their

behalf–easier said than done with armed men headed your way.

But the Lord was so patient, helping his people understand exactly how powerful and

in-control he is, and showing them mercy for the weakness of their faith. He promised

them, and he promises us, if we’ll turn around and look to him, be quiet and wait, he will

take care of everything at just the right time.

Ask the Lord to show you clearly anything other than Him that you are trusting in for safety

and success. As he brings answers to mind, turn away from those things and ask him to

strengthen your faith in his great desire to shower you with grace and mercy–to bring

salvation in his perfect way, in his perfect time.