Daily devotional · December 6
A Shoot from a Stump
“Then a shoot will spring up from the stump of Jesse, and a Branch from his roots will bear fruit. The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him— the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and strength, the Spirit of knowledge and fear of the LORD. And He will delight in the fear of the LORD. He will not judge by what His eyes see, and He will not decide by what His ears hear, but with righteousness He will judge the poor, and with equity He will decide for the lowly of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth and slay the wicked with the breath of His lips. Righteousness will be the belt around His hips, and faithfulness the sash around His waist.”
Isaiah paints a picture that would have sounded absurd: after the great tree of David's dynasty is cut down, a fresh shoot grows from the stump. What looks finished is not. The promised King is marked by the Spirit, wisdom and reverent fear of the Lord, and He judges not by appearances or rumors but with fairness, especially for the poor. This is a rare kind of leader: one who cannot be fooled or bought. Many of us carry a stump somewhere, a dream that ended, a relationship that broke, a season that felt like an ending. God is skilled at bringing green growth out of what seems dead. Today, name one stump in your life, and pray one sentence of hope over it. Then, as an Advent practice, treat someone fairly today, especially a person who cannot repay you, reflecting the character of the coming King.
Prayer
Lord, bring new life out of what feels finished in me. Make me fair and kind like You. Amen.