How beautiful upon the mountains
Are the feet of him who brings good news,
Who proclaims peace,
Who brings glad tidings of good things,
Who proclaims salvation,
Who says to Zion,
“Your God reigns!”

Isaiah 52:7 NKJV

As we are now a few days past the mid-point of this 40-day study, we look forward to the remaining days of this Christian calendar. We want what we have done with the first fruits of our time in 2022 to impact and shape the future. Isaiah 52:7 gives us a vision of becoming a person who brings joy, peace, and God’s grace and power to others. Let’s pray before we go further: Our Father Jesus Christ, You reign! Help me not to be afraid to tell everyone that truth. And help me to live in Your victory every day. Help me to see myself as Your messenger, even though I feel unequipped and nervous. Let the Holy Spirit give me the strength and love to announce Your good news in every opportunity I have. Amen

The metaphor of beautiful feet on the mountains sounds strange but would have painted a thousand words in Isaiah’s time. Jerusalem is a city surrounded by mountains, and atop various positions on the city wall, stood watchmen who constantly surveyed the mountain peaks, keeping watch on those approaching the city, whether they may be enemies or messengers bringing the good news of battle victory. Isaiah envisions the latter.

Imagine that you are a citizen of Jerusalem. The anointed king and the entire army of fathers, husbands, sons, and brothers have gone away to fight a war. The whole city has been praying for success and eagerly waits to hear the outcome of the conflict. Suddenly one of the watchmen spies a messenger running to the city. He can immediately tell that this messenger is bringing news of victory! The watchman’s eyes light up, his heart leaps within him, and he quickly informs his superior. Word spreads quickly throughout the city as the messenger arrives to announce “Victory is ours! Hallelujah!” The entire city breathes a huge sigh of relief and quickly makes plans for a great celebration and thanksgiving to God.

Each one of us can bring that same kind of relief and joy to others as we take on the identity of a messenger of God’s victory, bearing the good news that “God reigns!” This victory of God was accomplished over 2,000 years ago when Jesus defeated our greatest enemies – Satan, sin, death, and hell – through His life, death, and resurrection. Paul in Romans 10:15 quotes Isaiah 52:7 and applies it to us as Christians when we speak the Gospel to the lost. But being a messenger of good news is not only about evangelism; it is also about our need to preach the Gospel to ourselves and one another as believers. We can always view ourselves as messengers of God’s victory. Doing this may present several challenges. The boulders from within and without appear and refuse to give way. Small boulders gather more of their nature and turn into huge ones. That is how Satan tries to stop you from doing the Lord’s work. But can that stop us? No, not if we are in the service of Jesus Christ with truth and sincerity.

The good news that “God reigns” applies to us every day. When we are discouraged or anxious, we have forgotten that God does reign. When circumstances do not improve, we can recall the victory of God that causes everything to work together for our good. We all have moments when we are down, and we all need to see a messenger of good news heading in our direction.

If we want to be that carrier of God’s victory, it takes wisdom, courage, personal renewal, and renouncement. We need wisdom because the way that we announce, “God reigns!” may look different in each situation. To those who are hurting, it means that we demonstrate God’s victory by weeping with them rather than ignoring their pain and giving them a lecture. We need courage because others may not want to hear our message. But we can’t withhold such good news even if it may be awkward to broach the subject. We also need personal renewal because we are all subject to discouragement and doubt without the daily reviving of hearts by God’s Spirit and Word. We don’t want to announce “God reigns” in a superficial way, but instead, like one who saw the battle ourselves and relive His amazing grace and power all over again as we relate the work of God for all who believe the good news. Amen

Anand Peter