Aren’t you glad that God doesn’t give up on us? He remains faithful even when we are far from being faithful to Him. His patience towards us will never be drained or worn out… His tolerance will never be spent…His pleasure in us will never be exhausted or sapped. That’s because it says here that God will never grow tired or weary…even though it’s us that usually get impatient, and angry at the smallest of things…giving up after only a half-hearted attempt! We thank You Lord today for not giving up on Your people!
Author: kezha1
A Christian mother, grandmother, and retired nurse living in Illinois. Called into a ministry of encouraging others to find their ultimate plan and purpose in life through Christ.
Isaiah 40:26 ” Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He Who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of His great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.”
Psalm 89:11 adds to this idea of God’s sovereignty and Rulership over the entire universe when it says, “The heavens are Yours, and Yours also the earth; You founded the world and all that’s in it.” So when Isaiah said, “Lift up your eyes and look…” he was speaking of where our spiritual focus was. Has your spiritual focus been on your idols rather than on the Lord? Have your eyes been blinded by selfishness, pride, and rebellion? Today, you need to look above your present problems to see the greater picture…for if God can shepherd the stars…naming each one individually, He can surely shepherd His people.
Isaiah 40: 15,17 & 23 ” Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are regarded as dust on the scales. Before Him all the nations are as nothing; they are regarded by Him as worthless and less than nothing. He brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.”
With all the saber rattling, threats of military force, and warmongering happening in the world lately, a healthy dose of God’s perspective on the subject sounds good to me today. Here in Isaiah 40 we very clearly see God’s sovereignty over all human powers, and that in His eyes all superpowers of the world are counted as no more than dust. His rule of rulers has been validated over and over again by fulfilled prophecies we see in the Bible. And so even today remember, God remains in complete control…His activity and ethical obligation continuing to execute justice and mercy to all mankind.
Isaiah 40:11 ” He tends His flock like a shepherd; He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart; He gently leads those that have young.”
In John 10:11 Jesus called Himself the Good Shepherd, and in this Scripture we can see the expressions of His tender caring for the flock. During His ministry here on earth, Jesus would look at the harassed crowds and have compassion on them, for they were like scattered, helpless sheep… wandering off by themselves…becoming easy prey for the enemy…for He said, “they were without a shepherd.” (Matthew 9:36) But our Good Shepherd searches out the lost, leading and guiding them, and looking after the weak. Or as Isaiah 63:9 tells us, “In His love and mercy He redeems them; He lifts them up and carries them.”
Isaiah 40:8 ” The grass withers and the flowers fail, but the Word of our God stands forever.”
The Word of God is both judgment and blessing…declared before the beginning of time. His Word, the fulfillment and realization that knows no past or future for it remains eternal. Finally, we see here God’s Word is trustworthy, for God always does what He has said He will do, and does what He has promised. That’s because, God’s Word has stood the test of time and will continue to forever and ever.
Isaiah 40:5 ” And the glory of the Lord will be revealed , and all mankind together will see it.”
The Second Coming of Christ…have you ever thought about it? How will it happen, and how will all mankind together witness it at the very same moment? Logistically, our simple brain finds that impossible…but we need to remember, nothing is impossible for God. And how will Jesus Christ in all His majesty, glory and power appear…unveiled in stark revelation…yet immediately recognized by all, both Believer, Non-Believer, and those who may have never heard the word Jesus spoken before? Isaiah 34:4 tells us that the stars of the heavens will be dissolved and the sky will roll up like a scroll. And every hand will go limp and every man’s heart melt in terror, pain, and anguish. (Isaiah 13:7-8) No one knows what Jesus looks like…yet we will all know it is Him.
Psalm 46:10 ” Be still and know that I am God.”
When our minds are racing with a thousand different thoughts, the idea of quietly beholding God for Who He is, is probably one of the most difficult things we can do. Our mind and body wants to “do something”, but here the Lord tells us to do just the opposite. It’s been called Practicing the Pause, but why is it so important? When we are quiet before God we can train our ears to the voice of the Holy Spirit…we can exercise restraint in taking control of overwhelming fear, anxiety, and whirling thoughts…we can break the cycle of acting rather than reacting and repaying evil for evil…finally, we can draw a deep breath and speak the Name of Jesus to steady our emotions. For when we consciously stop, motionlessly focused on God, our body will relax, our spirit will calm and faith will take the place of fear. But more importantly, perseverance will replace raw endurance. Rather than just hanging on, we can now patiently persist with absolute assurance that God is in control.
Ephesians 5:14 ” Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”
I’ve found in my forty years of being a Christian, and especially as I’ve gotten much older, that many of the dreams and aspirations I once had, have yet to come to pass. Now I could take one of two approaches to this. I could bemoan the fact that I have no power to physically accomplish them and that they are gone forever…effectively dying to God’s plan and purpose in my life. Or I could heed this Scripture when God comes and says to me, “Arise!” My responsibly and initiative is to get up and get going, not wallowing in self-pity, apathy, and hopelessness. For when I obey, the miraculous power of God enables the impossible to become possible. For in the end, it’s not by my power, but God’s, that anything will happen in my life! Oswald Chambers once wrote, “God doesn’t give us overcoming life – He gives us life as we overcome.” Or as Paul said in Romans 8:37, “In all things we are more than conquerors through Him Who loved us. “
Romans 14:7 ” For none of us lives to himself alone…”
This Scripture reminded me of a very popular song in the late 60’s called “No Man is an Island.” We sang it in High School for a Concert and I remember the lyrics that talked about no man standing alone and that we all needed one another other. And 50 years later this still rings true…and probably even more today. The world’s influence tells us to live according to our own selfish inclinations…filled with mental carelessness, moral insensitivity, and spiritual weakness. But as a Believer in Christ, we have responsibilities to fellow Believers…for if one member suffers, all members suffer. (I Corinthians 12:26) We are to live honorably for Christ Jesus, and that’s because, “He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him Who died for them and was raised again.” (II Corinthians 5:15) None of us lives to ourselves…we are all part of the Body of Believers…first loved by Christ that we may in turn love one another. (I John 4:7-11)
Acts 28: 3,5 “Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand. But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects.”
Paul and the rest of the crew had survived a shipwreck, safely swimming to shore on the island of Malta. Since it was cold and raining, the people of the island built a fire to welcome these strangers, and Paul was helping to collect wood. You can imagine his startled surprise when a poisonous snake latched on to him! His Sympathetic Nervous System kicked in with rapid involuntary responses to pain and stress…also called the “Fight or Flight” response we all experience at one time or another. In his alarm, Paul quickly flung the snake into the fire. Was he in pain and suffering post snake bite? Probably, but it caught the attention of the islanders who then watched him closely…waiting for him to suddenly drop over dead. But when this did not happen, their minds were changed about him and it opened the way for Paul to minister healing to the sick and debilitated on the island. God never promised us a lifetime of comfort…for witnessing during our pain and suffering can bring others to Him.
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