I Choose Today to Hope in the Stump: Remnant Series – Part 3
There’s something sobering about the image of a stump. A tree once full of life—cut down. Only the base remains. Silent. Lifeless. Forgotten. Have you ever felt like that? Like everything familiar has been stripped away? Like all that’s left of a dream, a relationship, or a season is a flat, broken remnant of what once was? In Isaiah 6:13, the Lord speaks of Israel being cut down in judgment, saying, “As a terebinth or oak leaves a stump when it is cut down, so the holy seed will be the stump in the land.” It’s easy to read that and feel the heaviness. But tucked into that verse is a flicker of hope: The stump isn’t dead. There’s a seed still alive within it. It may not look like much—but with God, it’s enough. Throughout Scripture, God has a history of bringing life from unlikely places. Sarah’s womb, declared barren. Ruth’s life, marked by loss. David’s forgotten lineage. Jesus’ death and resurrection. Again and again, God begins in places the world calls finished. The stump may look like the end—but with God, it’s the beginning. Isaiah 11:1 says, “Out of the stump of David’s family will grow a shoot—yes,
