“Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and cry to her
that her warfare is ended,
that her iniquity has been pardoned,
that she has received from the LORD’s hand
double for all her sins.”
Isaiah 40:1-2
Peace just seems to flow through these verses. The assurance of God that the war is over and iniquity has been taken away.
The context seems to show these words to be for the Israelites in Babylonian captivity. But my heart is stirred by their connection to how Christ changes our lives.
It is in surrendering to Jesus Christ that we find victory. It is in knowing Him that we are changed from enemies of God Most High to His beloved people. Peace is found here. Rest for the weary. “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:28-29).
It is through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross that our iniquity is pardoned. Forgiveness is ours; our sin and guilt have been cast into the sea. “Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you” (Zechariah 3:4). “And the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6b).
Our souls find peace when we find Christ. Because we have found the One who fights for us. The One who has conquered death for us, and who has taken the punishment for our sins upon Himself, that all who come to Him will find life everlasting and love that covers their sin and cleanses their hearts. In Christ, we realize that we don’t have to fight to prove ourselves worthy. We could never pay our sin-debt on our own, could never erase our guilt. But He did. He accomplished it all.
“For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things,
whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.”
Colossians 1:19-20
In Pleasant Places 