#DailyDevotion Have you not heard? Jesus is the everlasting God! Now what are your going to do or believe?
December 20th
Read Is 40:18—41:10
Isa 40:18 To whom then will you liken God, or what likeness compare with him?…27 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”? (28) 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… Isa 41:8-10 But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham, my friend; (9) you whom I took from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest corners, saying to you, “You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off”; (10) fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
In this passage of Isaiah, the Lord God is questioning his people. Why? Because they are questioning him. Israel is following the ways of her pagan neighbors instead of leading them to the light of the Lord. They are making idols of what they think is God. The Lord God tries to dissuade them from this sort of thinking. Through the prophet he is trying to reason with them. So what is God like?
For one God, the Lord Jesus Christ, is far above all created things. He gives us the image of sitting above creation and spreading it all out. He is its creator, from subatomic particles to the vast reaches of space, he holds it all together. And while he is wholly other he is intimately involved in the happenings of men. He raises up men to rule the nations and he takes them down.
God, the Lord Jesus Christ, he sustains the universe and he is the only God that is of this world, though many worship that which is not God. Yet, he sustains the weary and gives strength to the weak. Though many strong men will fail in all their strivings, those who put their trust in him, “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.”
And while we may wonder on the majesty of God, this time of the year helps us to remember that God, the Lord Jesus Christ, is intimately concerned about you. Even has he had chose Israel from all the nations of the world to bear his name, he has now called you to be part of his holy people. Through the waters of baptism, Jesus has grafted you to himself and chose you to be his very own before the foundations of the world. In the midst of trials and tribulations, you have this promise, “fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Indeed, the One who would not help himself on the cross, who to all the world seemed weak an helpless, when you are experiencing your cross, Jesus is the I who is with you. Jesus is your God. Jesus will strengthen you, help you, and uphold you with his right hand. You can trust in this. He will do it.
Lord Jesus Christ, you created all that is, seen and unseen an uphold it with your right hand. On the day of our trials and all other times, uphold us with your merciful kindness and keep us from falling away so on the day of your return we may rejoice in all your glory. Amen.