The prophet Isaiah was born several hundred years before the birth of Christ. His name means “the Lord is Salvation” and it is similar to the names Joshua, Elisha and Jesus. Isaiah is quoted directly in the New Testament over 65 times, far more than any other Old Testament prophet and mentioned by name over 20 times. Isaiah is speaking to the nation of Israel, specifically the southern kingdom of Judah. The northern kingdom has already fallen to the Assyrians and Isaiah is warning the God’s chosen people of impending disaster unless they repent as a nation and turn from their evil ways. What were their evil ways? You name it, but mainly they were so caught up in their own lives and lifestyles, they not only took their eyes off of God and ignored Him completely, but worshipped other Gods in His place. As we read in the 40th chapter of Isaiah, verses 28-31, Isaiah focus is now 100 years into the land of Babylon where the Jews have languished so long in exile that they have given up hope of returning to their homeland. Despair has overtaken them with the thought that God has cancelled His covenant with them and abandoned them because of their sins. In response to their need, God speaks directly through His prophet Isaiah to reveal the other side of His character.
Have you ever felt like God has abandoned you or that God has cancelled His covenant with you because of past or present sins? In the theology of God as Creator and Redeemer, the children of Judah were assured of the power of God to take them back home to Jerusalem, and the grace of God to restore their covenant relationship with Him. And He can do the same for us today.
Isaiah writes; “Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might, He gives strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall. But those who wait on 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.”
His power never weakens or grows weary, and His understanding is perfect. God is omnipotent (almighty, infinite with unlimited power), He is omniscient (with complete awareness and unlimited knowledge), and God is omnipresent (present everywhere at the same time.) God will exchange His power for our weakness and His strength for our weariness. When He does, our energy will exceed the vigor of youth. If we are willing to trust God for His timing and His strength to fulfill His promise, “We shall mount up with wings like eagles, shall run and not be weary, walk and not faint.”
It’s easy to say we trust God, but do we really? Or do we put our trust where everyone else does; the practical places, stock market, real estate, banking institutions, astrology, fortune cookies, or whatever the newest quick fix solution may be. But God is in it for the long haul, time does not exist in His realm. God sees us from the beginning to the end, all at one time, the alpha and omega. David Jeremiah wrote that God sees our beginning and our end, but the middle is up to us, trusting Him along the way, or pushing Him aside for some other leadership in our lives. In fact scripture tells us that God sits on a throne high above the circle of the earth and excuse the pun, “God is up so high that to Him our Uncles look like ants.” I like to think that God knows us cover to cover. Each one of us is a book that is still being written. Our story started at birth and is being continually written throughout our lives.
And it will be finished once again at the beginning, only this time our story will continue throughout eternity, for those who love God through Jesus Christ. As many of you know, I love to read. I study Biblical history, world history and I look forward to reading novels when I can. I become easily immersed in the story line, the characters and the complexities. In fact often times I am sad when the book ends, because I have to say good-bye to the characters I have grown to know. When a movie is made from a book I have read, I generally will not watch it because I have created the characters as I see them. Have you ever reread a favorite book? You know the story, you know the characters and you know all of the twists and turns. You want to call out to them before they make a choice that will lead them down the wrong road; you want to warn them about what will be coming next. God sees our whole book, cover to cover, but our stories are still being written.
So where do we ultimately put our trust? Awhile back James Patterson and Peter Kim published a book entitled “The Day America Told the Truth” – What People Believe About Everything That Really Matters. (David Jeremiah references this in his excellent, recent book entitled “What To Do When You Don’t Know What To Do”.) In ‘The Day America Told The Truth’ the authors surveyed the American people in every region of the country about many issues including the relevance of God in their everyday lives. In a chapter entitled “Who Really Believes in God Today” they wrote and I paraphrase:
“What is going on in churches across America? The news is good – and bad. God is alive and very well. But right now in America, fewer people are listening to what God has to say than ever before. Ninety percent of people questioned said that they truly believe in God. It would be a natural and logical conclusion then to think that God is a meaningful factor in today’s America, but unfortunately the conclusions have turned out to be quite different. Throughout the country when people were asked how they make up their minds on issues of right and wrong, they simply do not turn to God to help them decide about issues, especially moral issues of the day – in fact for most people their relationship with God plays no role in shaping their opinions. Most people don’t seek God’s guidance in their lives, and if they are involved in church, most do not even know their church’s position on important issues. Only one American in five ever consults a minister on everyday issues. Half of us haven’t attended church for a minimum of three months. One in three haven’t been to a service for more than a year. More than half of us went to services regularly while growing up, but less than half of those do today.”
So where do we ultimately put our trust, especially in times of need? Chuck Colson writes; “People flit about in search of what suits their taste at the moment. It’s what some have called the ‘McChurch’ mentality. Today it might be McDonalds for a Big Mac; tomorrow it’s the salad bar at Wendy’s; or perhaps the wonderful chicken sandwiches at Chick-Fil-A. Many people who attend church are interested not in what the church stands for but in the fulfillment it can deliver. The result is an age of mix’em, match’em, salad bar spirituality.”
Scripture clearly tells us to put our trust in God, the Creator of the universe. Biblical history teaches us to trust in God alone. I believe we were all born with the innate quality of knowing right from wrong and we received life from the very breath of God. Shouldn’t we look to Him for our everyday needs and decisions? I also believe that the more we know scripture, the more we know about God and who He is, the more we can faithfully trust in God.
