Amidst the prophecies of judgment in much of the book of Isaiah, chapter 12 brings a ray of hope.

The prophet tells us that a righteous king is coming. And as we have seen in many previous books in the Bible, when a righteous king is on the throne, God not only blesses the land with peace and prosperity, but the people also act with righteousness.

I like verses 4 and 5. “Even the hotheads will be full of sense and understanding. Those who stammer will speak out plainly. In that day ungodly fools will not be heroes. Scoundrels will not be respected.”

As I record this on June 7, 2016, the United States is in the midst of the ugliest race for president that I can remember. And my earliest political memory is of the Kennedy/Nixon race of 1960. )Yeah. I’m an old guy.) I have seen very hotly contested presidential campaigns, but none as ugly as this one. Not only are the candidates conducting themselves in unseemly ways, but many of their supporters are, too.

The candidates are hotheads and scoundrels, and their followers take those characteristics and amplify them. It’s just plain ugly.

And it can be disheartening. It makes one say, “Is there any hope? Has it gone too far? Will we ever have peace again?”

The answer is a resounding “YES!” God has not forgotten us, beloved. He is allowing the ugliness and depravity because our nation has turned its back on Him. But because of my belief in His Word, because history repeats itself, because God never changes, I believe that there will come a day when the people will cry out to God for forgiveness. They will confess their sins, and He will forgive them.

I believe that.

But if that does not happen, if people refuse to turn to God, we know that a time of ultimate judgment is on the way. Jesus will return and bring an end to this age. The enemy will be bound, and Jesus will reign with righteousness. There will be peace. There will be no wars, there will be none of the ugliness we see today. “The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling[a] together; and a little child will lead them.”

I, for one, am longing for that day.

How about you?