Behold Your God

INTRODUCTION — WHEN THE WORLD FEELS HEAVY

There are seasons when a pastor, a parent, a believer, a friend, looks out at the world and quietly asks a question nobody hears but God: “Lord… what do I even say anymore?”

What do I say when hearts are tired?

What do I say when the world is confused?

What do I say when people are carrying more than they admit?

Isaiah knew that question intimately. For thirty-nine chapters he had preached warning, judgment, repentance, danger, truth, and pleading. He had confronted kings, spoken into crises, and addressed the collapse of a nation’s moral fabric.

And then the bottom fell out.

Jerusalem would fall.

Babylon would rise.

People would question everything they ever trusted.

So the real question became deeply personal:

“What does a prophet say after the world breaks?”

“How does a messenger keep speaking when the audience feels defeated?”

“What does a believer say when the future is foggy and the heart is numb?”

Into that moment, God steps forward with a word no one expected.

No thunderbolts.

No new judgments.

No “I told you so.”

God speaks a word that sounds almost unbelievable:

“Comfort, comfort my people,”

says your God.

Speak tenderly to Jerusalem.” (Isaiah 40:1–2)

Comfort?

After disaster?

After failure?

After rebellion?

Yes.

Because judgment is never God’s final word.

Grace is.

This revival message is built on that truth:

What God told Isaiah to say, He still tells His people to say.

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1. GOD’S FIRST WORD AFTER BROKENNESS IS ALWAYS GRACE

The world may speak shame.

Your feelings may speak discouragement.

Your past may speak guilt.

But God begins Isaiah 40 with tenderness: “Comfort… comfort My people.”

This is not soft comfort.

This is not sentimental comfort.

It is revival comfort—the kind that lifts the heart and rebuilds the soul.

Make no mistake: these people had failed. Badly. Terribly. Repeatedly.

They had trusted idols, ignored warnings, oppressed the poor, and hardened their hearts.

Yet God does not say:

“Condemn them.”

“Humiliate them.”

“Remind them how wrong they were.”

He says: “Speak tenderly.”

Why tenderly?

Because when people are crushed, tenderness rebuilds.

Because when people feel unworthy, tenderness restores.

Because when people have run out of strength, tenderness revives.

You can almost hear God whisper:

“Tell them I’m not done with them.”

“Tell them I still claim them.”

“Tell them their sins can be forgiven.”

“Tell them My mercy is greater than their mistakes.”

This is the heartbeat of revival: Grace is God’s first word after judgment.

It was true in Isaiah’s day.

It was true at the cross.

It is true tonight.

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2. COMFORT IS NOT THE ABSENCE OF TROUBLE — BUT THE PRESENCE OF GOD

The people listening to Isaiah were in pain.

They had lost everything familiar.

Their routines collapsed.

Their security vanished.

Their identity shattered.

Isaiah does not deny their grief.

He gives them something greater: presence.

“Behold your God!” (Isaiah 40:9)

Not behold your strength.

Not behold your determination.

Not behold your spiritual performance.

Not behold your track record.

Behold your God.

If revival ever happens, it begins right there.

Not by beholding ourselves.

Not by beholding our problems.

Not by beholding our fears.

But by beholding the God who enters the valley with us.

The devil wants you focused on the size of the enemy.

God wants you focused on the size of your Savior.

He tells Isaiah to proclaim:

“Your God will come…

He will tend His flock…

He will carry the lambs in His arms.” (Isaiah 40:10–11)

That is pastoral tenderness.

That is revival compassion.

That is God saying:

“You may feel scattered, but I will gather you.”

“You may feel lost, but I have not lost you.”

“You may feel weak, but I will hold you.”

When God carries you, your past can’t drag you down.

When God carries you, the journey can’t overwhelm you.

When God carries you, the enemy can’t defeat you.

The revival message of Isaiah 40 begins with this simple truth:

God Himself is your comfort.

Not the escape from trouble,

but His presence in it.

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3. GOD REBUILDS HOPE BY REVEALING WHO HE IS

The people Isaiah preached to had forgotten God’s size.

Their fear became larger than their faith.

Their problems blocked their view of His promises.

So God gives them a panoramic picture of His greatness.

He doesn’t start by explaining their suffering.

He starts by reintroducing Himself.

“Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand…?” (Isaiah 40:12)

Every ocean—cupped in His palm.

“Who has marked off the heavens with the breadth of His hand…?” (40:12)

Every galaxy—measured by His fingertips.

“Do you not know?

Have you not heard?

The Lord is the everlasting God…” (40:28)

Not the limited God.

Not the frustrated God.

Not the worn-out God.