Just 15 minutes

December 13, 2020 | Brendon Saget

About the author: Brendon Saget is the Director of Middle School Ministries. He also serves as a coach for basketball at Zionsville West Middle School and baseball for Zionsville Middle School. 

THIS WEEK'S SCRIPTURE: ISAIAH 35:1-10

15 minutes. It seems like so little but at the same time, seems so grand. 15 minutes that could be spent sleeping, cleaning up the kitchen, listening to a podcast, or so much more. This challenge is one that is sometimes tough for me because I inherently do not like silence. I also get caught up in the normal hustle and bustle of everyday life and I don’t even have kids yet. Prayer, meditation, and comfortability with the scriptures is something that is tougher and tougher to hold onto when we have google. With this vast growth of technology and answers to everything at the tip of our fingers, this challenge has shown me that it is not only about having the knowledge of the scripture but it is more and more about having that relationship to the living word of God. It is the hope and joy that comes from it and I hope this time has brought you joy and a closer love to our Father in Heaven.

The passage today in Isaiah 35:1-10 brings us joy. Joy is so easily mistaken for happiness but joy is more closely linked to hope. We see in the middle the Prophet Isaiah warning the nation of Judah of God’s judgment from chapters 1-34, in chapter 35, he shows the coming kingdom. This is after 34 chapters of harsh reality that the people of Judah had fallen away from God and Isaiah was there to teach them about what is to come. Verse 2 says, “Yes, there will be an abundance of flowers and singing and JOY.” It seems as this passage was a pause in the despair of the people of Judah and how they were feeling after hearing all of these warnings from Isaiah, those that would hear his warnings that is. This pause also shows us the grace of the merciful God who would not let them lose hope and help them find joy in the midst of despair for the coming kingdom. 

15 minutes. I hope that these 15 minutes have been a needed pause in what seems like a never ending year of 2020. Although we have new “normals” let us be encouraged by the grace and the love of God and be hopeful and joyous of the coming Kingdom of God.  As a staff we are talking about how we are learning and growing in this time and how will this help us continue to grow and evolve when things get less chaotic. I ask you, what have you learned, and how will that help you to grow and adapt in these crazy times and when these times calm down a little bit more.

Share