December 3

December 3 – Hope From What Looks Dead

READ

Jeremiah 33:14–16 – “A righteous Branch from David’s line.”

DEVOTION

Last week I helped Pastor Matthew cut down a dead ash tree in his backyard. You didn’t have to be an expert to see it was gone. The bark was peeling off, the limbs snapped like dry twigs, and several sections of the main trunk had become brittle. The emerald ash borer had tunneled small holes all throughout the tree. There was no saving it. No amount of fertilizer, water, or sunlight could bring it back. It was finished—dead, hopeless, and beyond repair.

That dead tree is a picture of what life looked like in Jeremiah’s day. Judah wasn’t just struggling spiritually, they were dead. Babylon was closing in, the nation was collapsing, and Jeremiah himself was locked in a prison courtyard for preaching God’s truth. Everything around him suggested the story was over.

But the story doesn’t end with the current situation of God’s people. As spiritually bankrupt and lifeless as they were, God spoke a word of hope. Hope not just for Judah, but for all people:

“The days are coming… when I will fulfill the good promise… I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line.”

A Branch? From David’s line? From a kingdom that looked like a dead stump? Humanly speaking, that sounded impossible. But God is in the business of doing the impossible. Jeremiah’s confidence wasn’t in his circumstances—but in his God.

And God kept His promise.

Centuries later, in a quiet town called Bethlehem, the Righteous Branch appeared—Jesus Christ. Where Judah’s kings failed, He reigns in righteousness. Where sin left humanity spiritually dead, He came to bring life. Where hopelessness seemed final, He became our righteousness.

That’s the heart of Advent. God brings life out of what looks lifeless. He brings hope where hope seems impossible. He brings new growth from places we thought were dead and final.

Maybe this season you feel like that ash tree—worn out, hollowed, or discouraged. But the God who made a Branch grow out of a dead kingdom wants to restore hope in you. Nothing is too far gone for Him.

REFLECT

Where do you see “dead tree” places in your life—things that feel lifeless, stalled, or impossible? How might God be preparing new growth you cannot yet see?

PRAY

Lord Jesus, thank You for being the God who brings life out of what is dead. Reveal the places in me that have grown cold or lifeless so I can repent and invite Your restoring power. Bring new hope and new strength into my heart today. Help me trust Your promises even when my circumstances feel dead. Amen.