Our father, we thank you for the riches of your word that has ever assured your people, as we read in today’s reading: “The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.”  We’re grateful that the hopeful promise of this ancient prophecy has been passed on to us, these hundreds of years later on the other side of the Cross, where your amazing plan for redemption is available to all because you empowered us to become joint heirs of eternal hope in Christ.   We praise you also, Lord, for the assurance in the richness of this poetic language from your prophet Isaiah, because our days often unfold as parched and dry, never-flowering deserts of stress, despair, sickness, and all of the other hangups and distractions that hinder us in the fallen world.  Your word reminds us and reassures us, though, that our present wilderness will one day blossom into splendid fruition against the backdrop of your glory, and we will be yours forever.  Thank you, Lord, for receiving us as your own!  Amen.