A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of might,
the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—
and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,
or decide by what he hears with his ears;
but with righteousness he will judge the needy,
with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;
with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.
Righteousness will be his belt
and faithfulness the sash around his waist. - Isaiah 11:1-5
Dear God,
If you did not keep in mind the plans you had to raise up out of the broken and destroyed families of Israel a Branch, a Son, who would fix everything between you and humanity, it would have been impossible for you to sit back and watch Assyria annihilate your people. But you knew your plan to raise up a branch from the family tree of Jesse. I believe you have big plans for my descendants after me and it brings me great joy to think that I am in the line of something wonderful on earth that will happen in ages to come. I will gladly serve you without knowing what you are going to do after me with my people because I know that your plan will always end up for the good of all. You are the God who saves and restores. I am thankful to have been converted to faith in you from my birth brain that was lost and confused.
Amen
Pastor Don Patterson
Live in the hope that the mundane events of your life are leading to huge precipices in history after you have entered your rest.