January 17 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Devotional

Some situations appear to be so hopeless that we say: "Unless a miracle happens, unless God himself does something ..." We have heard people make such comments when someone was critically ill. For a long time it was going up and down; one day a little better, the next day a relapse. Finally it was going downhill altogether. "Unless a miracle happens.... Unless God himself does something...."

A father has talked to his boy for a long time, and the boy's mother has spoken to him often. Yet he does not want to listen. He goes from bad to worse. Then the parents get on their knees and say: "Please, God, do something. Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down...."

Here, in this Bible verse, a man of God is on his knees. He points at the hopeless situation of God's people in the world. They lost the truth and lost the way. They lost their freedom and lost their temple. "Please, God, do something about it. Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down...."

God always answers prayer. This particular Old Testament prayer was answered in a way Isaiah could not have imagined. In the fullness of time, the Lord himself came to our planet as a baby in Bethlehem. The heavens were rent, and the angels assembled to give glory to God.

Since the heavens were rent and the Son came down, God has been doing something about our seemingly hopeless situation. God invaded our world, and the beginnings of the new world are already here in the lives and works of God's people. But the fullness of the kingdom has not yet appeared. We must cry again and pray without ceasing: "Come, Lord Jesus. Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down."

Reflections

Do you long for God's kingdom to be complete? Do you pray for the return ofJesus?

Andrew Kuyvenhoven's Daylight, a modern devotional classic, was originally published by Paideia Press in 1977. This updated edition is copyright 2009 by Faith Alive Christian Resources. You can order a copy of this revised version of the book directly from the publisher.

A man of many accomplishments, Andrew Kuyvenhoven is probably best known for his contributions to Today (formerly The Family Altar), a widely-used monthly devotional booklet associated with the Back to God Hour. Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations for this updated edition of Daylight are from the Holy Bible: Today's New International Version copyright 2001, 2005 by the International Bible Society.