On the windowsill by my kitchen sink sits this tiny orchid. For months it sits with beautiful blooms, which require minimal care to maintain its gorgeous color.

And then one day it happened.

A shriveled flower made an unexpected appearance. The normally in perfect bloom plant was experiencing the unavoidable life cycle. Each day brought more dead flowers, until they were all gone. The plant stood with just an empty stem where once colorful flowers bloomed seemingly ever-present.

Time went by and the stem stood empty… the tiny orchid plant needed the most unimaginable care. That entire stem that once was filled with purple flowers needed to be pruned completely cut off! The plant wouldn’t be stimulated to grow again until that stem was gone.

Would new blooms ever be seen again? Week after week the plant sat, seemingly lifeless. Then one day it happened, kind of snuck up out of nowhere, a brand new shoot had formed.

Israel had waited for more than a few weeks; God’s people had been waiting for years in captivity and exile… waiting for God to work…hoping that God had not forgotten the promises spoken to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob… waiting…

“The days are coming,” declares the Lord,

“when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch,

a King who will reign wisely

and do what is just and right in the land.

In his days Judah will be saved

and Israel will live in safety.

This is the name by which he will be called:

The Lord Our Righteous Savior.

Jeremiah 23:5-6

The people of God had wanted a king to reign over them. Despite God’s warnings they asked God to give them a ruler like other nations. And things went poorly just as God told them it would.

Time and again Israel’s kings and the people continued to choose their own desires and gave into worshipping the gods of other nations. The kingdom of Israel was falling.

As the kingdom, divided, disobedient and unfaithful to God saw the consequence of their actions it seemed that the promised of God to their forefathers could never come to fruition.

God is faithful; His promise was not forgotten. From the stump of the root of Jesse… from the line of David the Lord would raise up a righteous Branch!

Even when it seemed that there was no way… God was making a way! The wonder of it all was that even in exile God’s people were never abandoned, His plan never thwarted! Hold on to hope! The Messiah our Savior will come!

Just as God promised Abram, all nations would be saved through the Messiah. Hope was not lost. From what seemed to be a fallen family line would rise the King of kings. God was at work bringing hope and restoration for His people and for all people!

~Jillene