Carols Devotional: “Can A Stump Become Fruitful”

Can a stump become fruitful? Day 2 

Isaiah 11:1 “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse,

and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.”

We don’t put much hope in a stump of a tree. It’s been cut down, deemed unfruitful and left for decay. However, when God is in the picture, all things are possible. Out of the cut down tree, a little rod grew and that rod was the son of Jesse, whom we know as David. He was the last and nearly forgotten son, but the one God chose and anointed to be king of Israel and the one whose lineage would lead to our awaited Emmanuel.

If your life feels like the stump of a fallen tree, you are in good company. The Christmas Carol, Emmanuel, reminds us that it was from the fragile and unlikely rod of Jesse that led to our savior, and history was forever changed:

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free

Thine own from Satan’s tyranny

From depths of Hell Thy people save

And give them victory o’er the grave

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel

Shall come to thee, O Israel.

God loves to be the hero of our story. When the odds seem impossible and the tree of our life seems unfruitful, God is able to stir new life in the soil and provide miraculous growth.

Ann Voskamp states, “Out of the last and forgotten son of Jesse, comes forth one tender branch that will grow into a crown of thorns… a rugged cross…. our ladder back to God. Jesus will go to impossible lengths to rescue us.”

Melissa Miller