“He will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth. The Lord has spoken.”

When you first read this verse, what stands out the most to you?  Perhaps it is the fact that the first promise to “swallow up death forever”, has already been achieved through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord. His ultimate sacrifice was to reclaim the keys of Hades and for ‘God’s people to be released from their sin, and to live with Him in glory for all eternity. This is a sure and certain promise Jesus made before His death when He talked about going ahead of `his followers’, that’s you and me!  John 14:2

What would wiping away the tears from your face mean?  Perhaps reuniting with loved ones who have already died.  Perhaps the end of conflict, both large and small.  Or the end of poor health, with weak bodies that are frail and painful. Whatever is true for you, and it could be all of these or more, you can be certain that when we are with Our Lord in heaven there will be no more tears.

The disgrace of His people refers to our sinfulness. As we live in a time after Christ, we can already know that our disgrace has been cleansed by His blood. If we fail to acknowledge this then Jesus’ death was futile and achieved nothing. On the contrary, His death and resurrection proves to us that God, our Father in heaven, loves us so much, He was willing to sacrifice Himself, in the form of His son to purchase our forgiveness and give us a righteous heart, when we repent. ‘There is no condemnation in Christ Jesus’ Romans 8:1

When Isaiah received this promise from God, Jesus’ love was still about 700 years away. Yet, His word was given as an assurance to the people of Israel, as a comfort and assurance that He had already heard the cry of His people and responded.

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Application:

 If you are in pain, spiritually or physically I encourage you to cry out to The Lord.  Better still, find a friend in Christ with whom you can partner in prayer, maybe meeting once a week or fortnight to pray together.  Home groups also provide a safe space to share our prayer needs.  Keep a prayer diary and remember to look back over it from time to time. See how He hears you and answers.

Prayer: 

Oh, dear Lord Jesus, thank you that you hear my cries.  Even before the words are on my lips you know exactly what I will say. In your mercy Lord, hear my prayer. Amen.