A shoot will come up from that stump

“A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse…” Isaiah 11:1

This verse in Isaiah is the beautiful prophecy of the glorious coming of the Messiah, the Shoot of Jesse, our Lord Jesus Christ. What struck me here is that it says he will be as a shoot coming up from the stump of Jesse – not from the tree of Jesse but from the stump. The dictionary defines a stump as ‘the base of a tree trunk and its roots, after the tree has fallen or been felled’. This glorious shoot is going to come up from something that has fallen – a failure.

I find this very encouraging to my heart and I pray it encourages yours too for this is the way of our God – he knows how to bring something glorious out of a total mess. A stump always results from blows to a tree that cause it to fall. This is very much like us. Many of us have come through issues in life either as a result of our own fault or that of others that has left stumps in some areas of our lives. And it hurts to look at that stump and think of the tree it will never become. But hear what the Lord is saying to you today: “a shoot will come up from that stump”.

I don’t know where the stump lies in your life but I urge you to receive this word from God. You do not need to know how God will do it, I only believe God is asking you to hand over that stump and indeed your entire life to him, and “a shoot will come up from that stump”. A while ago I read the book “Me, Myself & Bob” – the gripping story of how Phil Vischer (creator of VeggieTales) watched his dream begin to grow and then was suddenly cut down into a stump. I was disturbed, but God was saying to me “a shoot will come up from that stump” too, because through it all Phil has come to a place where he has submitted the stump to God and is focused on walking with God. God specialises in giving us beauty for our ashes. He might not do it the way we imagined, but he will bring beauty out of that stump.

I urge you not to let your “Why, Lord?” or your feelings of guilt stand in the way. Don’t allow bitterness or unforgiveness to hinder you. God wants to bring out something gloriously beautiful from the stumps of our lives. Let’s believe him and co-operate with him by yielding to him and seeking only him.  I don’t know where your stump may lie – whether in your marriage, ministry, job, children or vision, but what I know God is saying to you is this: a shoot will spring up from your stump. Will you believe it?