Is there any hope for people facing the darkness and despair of divine judgment?
The joy of celebrating Christmas begins with asking and answering the right question. While clearly warning of the much-deserved judgment to come, Isaiah is quick to say yes, there is hope. Hope that should be celebrated because it brings great joy.

We should seek to do good even when we suffer for it, having confidence in God who blesses his servants.

In a book full of judgment, Amos wrote these verses at the end of this book to comfort and confront his hearers. Israel was meant to compare the hope Amos held out for them here with the things they were currently hoping in. These verses do the same for us today: they comfort us and confront us. Likewise, we should consider what we’re hoping in and compare that with what Amos holds out to us.

The wilderness. The desert. A hostile, dangerous and uncomfortable place. It is a surprising place to find the people God has rescued from slavery with the promise and hope of a new life. But that’s where we are. Let’s consider how God sustains us in our wilderness experience.