Now we’re wrapping up my favorite chapter in Isaiah. Keep in mind that the prophet’s main charge is to “comfort” God’s people. The generation he’s addressing, about 85 years down the road, is going to experience some devastating times. They’ll see their homeland invaded, the leaders killed or taken away, and most of them will go into exile, never to see their homes again. It’ll look like powerful, evil men run the world and do as they please.
Not so, says the prophet. He points his hearers up to the heavens once again. Think about the grand and glorious dance of the stars above us. And the One who owns us created all of them. Not with a great effort. With a word. That’s all it took for him to do it.
And he sustains them as well. By his infinite power, not one of them is missing.
Well, that’s all well and good, but what about my personal situation? He’s all concerned about the stars, but what about me? Does he know about what’s going on? Does he care? Has he forgotten about me?
Again, look to the stars. He’s not a computer, keeping track of things in an impersonal manner. What’s the most common profession God is compared to in Scripture? That’s right, a shepherd. A shepherd knows his sheep by name and calls them to his side by use of those names. With human scientists, most of the stars don’t have a name, just a number. That’s because there are sooooooo many. And can you imagine one person actually not only naming all the billions of stars but remembering all of them by name? That’s our Lord.
So how can you think that he's forgotten you? I know that it’s easy to think that when times are really hard and he seems silent. Job never questioned God’s existence, but he questioned God’s goodness and empathy because the Almighty was silent when Job needed him most.
But that’s when we need to look up. The same Power that keeps the stars and planets in their proper orbits? That’s the power that lives inside us in the Person of the Holy Spirit. And the same God who has named each of the stars and keeps them corralled like a shepherd with his sheep knows your situation perfectly.
Then let’s look at the world around us. The same God who created everything we see and everything we don’t has no limits on his strength, right? Young men and women can be pretty impressive. Think of the Olympics or professional sports. I’m sure that if I raced one of those athletes, the only way I’d win is if I got to drive a car while he was on foot. But our God doesn’t get tired or weary physically. He rested on the seventh day not because he was tired but because his work was done.
And he offers that power and strength to us right now. All of us have limits on our physical, mental, and emotional energy, and when times are hard it seems like we’ve run out. But we can tap into that limitless source of strength to get us through the hardest of times.
And how do we do it? Well, the Hebrew has been translated in two ways, and both of them are good answers, and they’re linked with each other. Depending on your translation, you're called upon to “wait upon” the Lord or “hope” in him. There’s not a huge difference between the two, is there? Hope that lasts for ten minutes is not really hope. If you’re waiting for his timing, then you have a sure hope, not a false one (like idol worshippers). Trusting in him means that you wait for him to do things his way, knowing that his way is best.
That means that if you call upon him for strength, and he doesn’t seem to give you all the strength you need, wait for him. Trust him. At the right time and in the right way, he'll lift you up from the ground and give you what you need. He will. You have his word on it.
Father God, sometime I get so tired. Physically, emotionally, spiritually. I’m waiting on you to give me what I need. I’m trusting you. Please don’t let me down.
No comments:
Post a Comment