I love how God works. My husband and I have been praying about direction on a situation for a while now. Oh...we'd talk about it and say "One day God will show us" or "God will direct us" to which I sometimes ask when?
Waiting is one of the most difficult things in life. Whether it's waiting for a diagnosis, waiting for a proposal, waiting for a response from a job interview, waiting when there is threat of imminent danger...waiting is difficult. This morning however, I was awakened at 3:30 AM. I am an early riser but the days of me waking up at 4:15 everyday are behind me since retirement. So I am wondering "why" am I awake this early? You know when you get that nudging to go do something? Well, I had that nudging....but I knew what that "something" was. So, I started the coffee, picked up my Bible, and settled in.
I found that my devotion this morning was in Isaiah 40 and once I started, I could not stop. The King of Assyria, in all his pride and arrogance has threatened Jerusalem's King Hezekiah
[Isaiah 36]. Now there was threat of imminent danger but only to Hezekiah because God had already taken care of it.
In our minds, some things can get huge and out of our control. We don't have answers or direction and certainly don't have a plan. Hezekiah simply "tore his clothes and put on a sackcloth and went into the temple of the Lord" [Isaiah 37:1] as was the custom of the time. Sometimes, we can let fear and uncertainty overtake us. Often to the point of wanting to hide from the world.
We need assurance, we need comfort, we need an answer.
I love the way Isaiah 40 begins as it is directed at Jerusalem...."Speak tenderly....and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed." Hear that? Completed....it's over! Jerusalem has taken a beating and it does not look very promising however, what I love about this chapter is that God shows His power. In life today, when we are overwhelmed and we feel surrounded by the enemy...God shows his power!
So the enemy marches on to attack? All men are like grass and all their glory is like the flowers of the field. The grass withers and the flowers fall because the breath of the Lord blows on them [V6-7]. We go on the offensive, we want an arsenal, we fortify walls...God stops them with a single breath.
You feel out of control because whatever haunts you is bigger than you and nothing can stop it? See, the Sovereigh Lord comes with power and his arm rules for him [V10]. Whatever it is, however big it is, however powerful it may seem....He brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing[V23]. It is not to big for God to handle.
The things that seem huge to us, I mean really huge like an opposing army marching against us, are nothing to a powerful God like ours. In His time, He revealed his answer to Hezakiah. In His time, His glory will be revealed. In His time, he will reveal His answer to us as well. Perhaps He already has. Time to soar!
He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:29-31
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