Isaiah 40:21-31
40:21 Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth?
40:22 It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:
40:23 That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity.
40:24 Yea, they shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown: yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth: and he shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble.
40:25 To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.
40:26 Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth.
40:27 Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the LORD, and my judgment is passed over from my God?
40:28 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.
40:29 He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.
40:30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:
40:31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
21
When we’re going through hard times, we sometimes question God. We can’t see all He sees and know all He knows. We have to trust His judgment that He will give us what we need, even if we don’t like it sometimes. At the end of Job, God breaks forth and starts telling Job and his friends how He has made all things…
Job
38:5 Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it? 38:6 Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof; 38:7 When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? 38:8 Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb? 38:9 When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddlingband for it,
38:10 And brake up for it my decreed place, and set bars and doors, 38:11 And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed? 38:12 Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days; and caused the dayspring to know his place; 38:13 That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, that the wicked might be shaken out of it? 38:14 It is turned as clay to the seal; and they stand as a garment. 38:15 And from the wicked their light is withholden, and the high arm shall be broken. 38:16 Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? or hast thou walked in the search of the depth? 38:17 Have the gates of death been opened unto thee? or hast thou seen the doors of the shadow of death?
We can’t begin to understand how big God is, and yet He cares for each one of us. We have to trust that He knows what’s best and accept it.
22
God knows where you are and what you need. He knows those around you too, and He puts everything and everyone into your life for a purpose. We are meant to learn something and grow somehow through every trial and every blessing God gives us. God doesn’t waste His efforts.
Isaiah
55:8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. 55:9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. 55:10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: 55:11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
God’s purposes will be accomplished in each of our lives. The sooner we can start seeking and following His will, the better it will be. Jesus told Saul on the Damascus road, it’s hard to kick against the pricks. That is, it’s hard to fight against God’s will. As we’ve said before, the people in the Bible shows us how God blesses those that follow His will, and how the disobedient fall to their own devices.
23
God created countries and governments and uses them the same way He uses people. He raises them up for His purposes, and He rewards those that follow His will.
Romans
13:1 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.
Whoever your favorite president has been, God put Him in office. However, He also allowed Stalin and Hitler to reach their positions too. Every generation has to be shown there is a difference between good and evil, because we have such a short memory.
24
Just as God has allowed bad rulers to come into His world, He has allowed trials and temptations to enter into each of our lives. Often, this is done just so we can see that God is willing and able to bring us through the hardest circumstances.
Romans
9:17 For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. 9:18 Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.
Both Pharaoh of Egypt and Moses were part of God’s plan. Each had their part to play in displaying the power and glory of God.
25
In spite of appearances, God always wants what’s best for each of us and for all of us. He proved that when He sent His son to die on the cross for our sins.
Matthew
13:44 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. 13:45 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: 13:46 Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.
We are that hidden treasure and that pearl of great price. Jesus thought we were worth the price He had to pay.
26
Jesus was there in the beginning with the Father. He will be there in the end when we need Him most. He has all the power and wisdom we will ever need if we trust Him.
John
1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 1:2 The same was in the beginning with God. 1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. 1:4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
Get into the Word. Read study and pray. The more we let God’s light into our hearts, the more darkness will be cast out and the more we’ll be able to see the blessings of God.
27
We sometimes think we can hide things from God. We can more easily hide things from ourselves than we can hide them from God. He knows us better than we know ourselves, but He loves us anyway. That’s because He also knows what we can become. He has planted a seed within each of us. When we seek His light, we help that seed to grow.
John
3:19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 3:20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 3:21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
God wants us all to walk in the light of His love. That is one of His purposes in our lives; to show us that we can trust Him.
28
We can’t hide from God. We can’t fool Him or bargain with Him. He’s told us plainly what we have to do. We have to step out in faith and follow His word.
Mark
4:22 For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was any thing kept secret, but that it should come abroad.
“A good man gone bad is usually a bad man found out.” We all know our hearts and our faults. God does too, so we may as well confess them to Him and let Him help us. He knows where we are and where we’ve come from. More importantly, He knows where we’re going and the path we need to follow to get there.
29
God knows we are powerless in ourselves. That’s why He’s told us to let Him fight our battles. Many things are beyond our strength, and most things are beyond our wisdom.
Matthew
11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 11:30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Jesus has already borne the burden of our sin debt. He has paid the price. We were never meant to bear that alone. We have to lay it down before the Lord and accept the Mercy and Grace He has so freely given to us.
30
We can’t fight our battles alone. The pride that tells us we can is just another lie of the enemy. It doesn’t matter what you have. If you don’t have God in your life, there’s an empty spot in your soul and nothing in this world can fill it. Look at all the examples of the rich and powerful people in this world that have led miserable lives, because they tried to fill their soul with the wrong things.
1 Corinthians
1:26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: 1:27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; 1:28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: 1:29 That no flesh should glory in his presence. 1:30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: 1:31 That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.
We all have sinned and fallen short. We don’t receive the gift of salvation because we deserve it. It is a free gift of God. It is to His glory that He is able to save sinners like us. He gives us His righteousness because we don’t have any of our own.
31
We try and push and pull and make things happen on our schedule. God does things in the fullness of time. He knows when the time is right to give us the things we want. He also knows how long to make us wait on the things we don’t need. When we try to get ahead of God, we often grab things that aren’t intended for us and which do us harm. Part of learning to trust in God is to also learn to trust His timing.
John
10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 10:28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. 10:29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. 10:30 I and my Father are one.
God has all the time in the world. He has eternity behind Him and before Him. When we wait on His timing, He will help us through our trials and help us to learn the lessons He has in everything He gives us.