Hope from Devastation

Day after day, gypsy moth caterpillars chewed through the lush green leaves of the wilderness camp. Night after night, their droppings fell on our tents. Troubled, those of us on the camp staff lay awake, helpless to stop the destruction.

Then one night the wearisome sounds overhead suddenly stopped, and silence fell over the woods. All that remained were twigs and branches — it looked like winter. We wondered if the trees could survive. To our astonishment, in time new buds appeared, leaves developed, and the woods returned to life, albeit with scars.

I think of those trees when I think of refugees stripped of belongings, homes, and loved ones; communities destroyed by war or natural disaster; families devastated by domestic violence, addiction, or divorce. Can God restore devastated people as fully as God restored those trees?

Isaiah 61:1-11 offers hope that, indeed, God can do that. Isaiah describes people devastated by loss, left with nothing but ashes — people who are grief-stricken or despairing. In Luke 4:18-20, Jesus identified himself as the one Isaiah spoke of. Hebrews 4:14-16 assures us that with Jesus we will “receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”