Readings for today: Isaiah 38-40, Phil. 4
I love the promises listed in Philippians 4. “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (4:7) “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” (4:13) “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” (4:19) They are some of the most beloved in all of Scripture. People memorize them. Post them in special places all over their homes or workplaces. Some even tattoo them on their bodies. But as we read through the passages assigned for today, it struck me that none of the promises listed in Scripture would be worth anything if God were not truly God. The juxtaposition of Isaiah 40 with it’s glorious vision of God and the very ordinary, very practical promises listed in Philippians 4 for provision, protection, and peace hit me hard. Too often, I tend to focus on my needs, my wants, my desires and can feel overwhelmed. I focus on the challenges and difficulties of my own life and can feel anxious or afraid. I look at what’s happening in my community, my country, or the world around me and I lose hope of things ever getting better. It’s just too much for me to handle. But then I read a passage like Isaiah 40 and I am reminded of the greatness and glory and majesty and splendor of God. Nothing is beyond Him. Nothing is too hard for Him. Nothing is too big for Him. Nothing overwhelms Him. Yes, I grow faint and get tired. My wisdom and understanding fails. Not so with God! He never wears down and His knowledge is unsearchable! His power immeasurable! His love unconditional! His faithfulness extends to all generations!
Take a moment and re-read the wonderful words from Isaiah and let yourself rest in the glory of your God! “A voice cries: In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken. Go on up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good news; lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!” Behold, the Lord God comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young. Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance? Who has measured the Spirit of the Lord, or what man shows him his counsel? Whom did he consult, and who made him understand? Who taught him the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding? Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as the dust on the scales; behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust. Lebanon would not suffice for fuel, nor are its beasts enough for a burnt offering. All the nations are as nothing before him, they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness. To whom then will you liken God, or what likeness compare with him? An idol! A craftsman casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and casts for it silver chains. He who is too impoverished for an offering chooses wood that will not rot; he seeks out a skillful craftsman to set up an idol that will not move. Do you not know? Do you not hear? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to dwell in; who brings princes to nothing, and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness. Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth, when he blows on them, and they wither, and the tempest carries them off like stubble. To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him? says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name; by the greatness of his might and because he is strong in power, not one is missing. Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God”? Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:3-5, 9-31)
Readings for tomorrow: Isaiah 41-42, Colossians 1:1-2:5