Did you know that what looks like a dead olive tree—no leaves and no branches—can reproduce itself? I saw a large stump of an olive tree with a leafy branch bursting out from its roots in dry, barren ground. It’s amazing!

Isaiah’s readers readily understood the meaning of “a tender shoot growing up like a root out of dry ground.” That illustration resonated with them even if they did not yet fully comprehend to whom Isaiah was referring. The “tender shoot” would be Jesus, the long-awaited Messiah. Some 700 years after this prophecy, He would burst into our world as a tiny baby in a manger.

Rooted in the lineage of Abraham and David, Jesus sprang up at a time when faith in God was nearly dead. He would be our tender shoot as from a “dead” olive tree. God would once again be making something astounding out of nothing.

Rejoice in the miracle of a baby who appeared to us and came to serve, seek, and save the lost. He’ll spring up for us too, no matter how parched our spirit is, making something out of the nothing of our lives.