Unfortunately our spiritual lives sometimes become like this stagnant pool of water—dead, barren, still, and unproductive. In the time of Isaiah, one of the central figures in Advent, Israel had grown stagnant. Israel was not unlike the pool of water near my home, undisturbed by any flow into it or out of it. But through Isaiah God began to stir up the waters to renew Israel and bring the hope of new life. During Advent we turn to Isaiah to hear how God can stir up the waters of our dead spirituality