Advent 2017 Devotional - Dec. 9

Isaiah 42:1-4

Isaiah said God’s servant would do big things in quiet ways that might at first seem small to us. After Jesus grew up, his home town’s reputation led Nathanael to ask, “Nazareth! Can anything good comefromthere?” (John1:46).Yet in that tiny town,God found a teenager with no husband and no social status.Through her, God entered decisively into human history. God didn’t “shout”—but Jesus quietly changed the world in big, big ways. “He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets.A bruised reed he will not break,and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.” Does the way God goes about changing our broken world ever feel too slow or weak to you? Do you wonder at times why God doesn’t simply write the divine laws in the clouds, or send a plague to wipe out all human traffickers or predatory loan sharks? In what quiet, loving, and effective ways can you join in God's Movement to transform our world for the better?