Isaiah 11:1 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
    from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.

Few things look as desolate as a stump, so the image here is pretty graphic. By the 1^st Century, the general populace wasn’t even sure who was a descendant of King David any more – but God knew. His promises sometimes might look like they have failed, but they never fail! This is why both Matthew and Luke trace Jesus’ genealogy, actually taking somewhat different routes. They both take the legal route through Joseph, even though Jesus wasn’t Joseph’s son. (I have always thought that Mary likewise was a direct descendant of David, but at this point I don’t find direct Biblical proof of that.) David’s line certainly looked like a dead stump by that point! However, God’s promises never fail, and He certainly came through on this one. The thing is, even at the time, it didn’t look like it, because it didn’t happen in the ways people imagined it might. That the royal heir would be born in such humble circumstances didn’t occur to the religious leaders, certainly. We get into a lot of trouble when we try to dictate to God how things “ought to be.” Oral Roberts coined the phrase, “God said it, I believe it, that settles it.” However, that should be, “God said it, that settles it.” It is very informative, even mind-blowing, to go through the Bible matching prophecies with their fulfillment. As just one example, the return of the Israelites to Jerusalem from the Babylonian captivity was improbable in the extreme, but God brought it about through people who didn’t claim to know Him. On top of that, the return of the Jews to Israel in the 20^th Century was even more improbable, but that too was prophesied. That’s why the enmity of the Arab peoples is ultimately so futile. Many of God’s promises are conditional, and we need to be careful of that, but many are not, and we can absolutely bank on them, even though we might have no idea of the timing of their fulfillment.

God has said some things to me that seem improbable to say the least, but I can have absolute assurance that they will come to pass. When I came to Omura 44 years ago I had various ideas of how things might go, and none of them were accurate. However, He has said some things to me over the years that I do see being fulfilled, and I have great anticipation of much more. He is not only omnipotent, He is also totally faithful! I don’t know the details of what He is going to do from here, but I’m to keep myself available for however He wants to use me, because it’s His plans and not mine that matter.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You that I’ll be going to Kumamoto tomorrow afternoon to be the interpreter for a conference the following two days. I ask for guidance in getting there safely, and I ask especially for wisdom and anointing to do all that You ask of me, through whomever You ask it, so that Your purposes may be accomplished on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!