Out of the stump of David’s family will grow a shoot- yes, a new Branch bearing fruit from the 

old root. 

And the Spirit of the LORD will rest on him- the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might,

The Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD…

In that day the heir to David’s throne will be a banner to all the world.

The nations will rally to him, and the land where He lives will be a glorious place. Isaiah 11:1-2,10

I love how scripture paints a picture we can imagine…a stump, The tree has been cut down. There is no hope of life. Or so it seems. That our Father can speak to us in terms we can understand is a gift. I know I say it on a regular basis, but this world He created for us to live in is the best schoolroom.

We all have to cut down a tree on our property or in our yard sometime. They live a long time but not forever. If the stump is “ground up”, it becomes a soft fertile area for new plants. If it just sits there, maybe, just maybe, there is life left in the root. If life does remain, you might see a sprout emerge. But if not, the stump rots and a hole develops. 

We had a huge water oak become diseased. It had to be taken down. The stump rotted. The disease had killed the tree down to the root. So many times we don’t see life in a stump. We have no hope of that “shoot” of life.

I wrote this comment on an Advent devotion in 2016…”The stump…there is no tree…the Tree has been “cut down”. The hope of the world for salvation is gone. But out of death, out of the place where no life lives, comes life. Life springs up. The tender shoot coming out of death…bringing hope…bringing God-love…bringing God-life. Messiah.”

No matter what evil tried…no matter what was said or done…Our Father and His plan to save us will always prevail. Hope. We have Hope. Messiah lives. Hallelujah!