Today's advent devotion was written by Bob Kohari:

The Lord will guide you always;

he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land

and will strengthen your frame.

You will be like a well-watered garden,

like a spring whose waters never fail.   - Isaiah 58:11

On this mid-December day are you feeling lost, physically, emotionally and spiritually exhausted like the Israelites wandering through the “desert of their lives” awaiting God’s leading them back from exile to their promised land?

I believe many of us can identify with these exiles as we continue to wander in our own wilderness of the ongoing pandemic and unknown future for our nation. However, in these verses today we find great hope because God promises to guide us always, like a shepherd, and through our faith in Him continue to bless us, strengthen us and preserve us like the garden with a spring that never fails.

God promises that if we have sincere faith, even in times of challenge, we should reach out beyond our own personal circumstances and undertake acts of kindness, charity, justice and generosity toward others as we await the arrival of our Good Shepherd Jesus Christ, who pledged to give us the “living water of the Holy Spirit” through our belief in Him.

Let us thankfully and prayerfully await Christ’s arrival and share this hope of salvation and redemption with others.  With such a Good Shepherd committed to us for life, we have nothing to fear!

Prayer:  Father God, as we await the arrival of our Savior Jesus Christ, help us to see beyond the desert of our lives; give us the living water of Your Holy Spirit and fill our lives with strength for today and hope for tomorrow.  In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.