“Look down from heaven and see, from your holy and beautiful habitation. Where are your zeal and your might? The stirring of your inner parts and your compassion are held back from me.” Isaiah 63:15  Lord Remember your people. We live in a reality that we cannot fully know you or wholeheartedly follow you. We glimpse you but often find trinkets and trophies we’ve collected blocking our sight. Remove the idols in our way that we may see you. ”For you are our Father, though Abraham does not know us, and Israel does not acknowledge us; you, O LORD, are our Father, our Redeemer from of old is your name.” Isaiah 63:16  We are apart of a great story Lord. We can easily feel lost in the void of time that has elapsed since you openly showed your glory. Let us realize that we see your glory all surrounding and your power is evident in the complex simplicity of your creation. ”O LORD, why do you make us wander from your ways and harden our heart, so that we fear you not? Return for the sake of your servants, the tribes of your heritage.” Isaiah 63:17  Lord we are so prone to wander from your goodness and truth. We need your help Lord. It is only in your provision and power that we can live, breathe, and move. Let us fear you and trust in your hope.

If your faith has become a race in which you have lost sight of God what can you do. What hope is there for those who have become so entangled in their self-built religion? What if you feel that you have strayed from God? “Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’ If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday. And the LORD will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.” Isaiah 58:9-11 Will you cry out to God? Will you desire that your heart be burdened for Him? Will the hungry of the world burden you? Do the aching hearts of the people of the world cause your heart to ache? Ask God to burden your heart to reach out to a hurting world to be His light in the darkness.

Have you placed your hope in God? Is the dilemma that you face one of trust and dependence? “And a Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who turn from transgression,’ declares the LORD. ‘And as for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the LORD: ‘My Spirit that is upon you, and my words that I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, or out of the mouth of your offspring, or out of the mouth of your children’s offspring,” says the LORD, “from this time forth and forevermore.’” Isaiah 59:20,21  A redeemer came through Israel to the world. Jesus Christ lives today so that you may live tomorrow. The first step toward being a light in the dark world is for you to see the light yourself. Will you trust that Jesus Christ died on the cross to pay the penalty of sin for you?

We should not be so quick to disassociate and dissolve ourselves from the knowledge and relationship with God that we were created to abide within. Throughout Scripture we see that God is working out His purpose for His glory. ”For my name’s sake I defer my anger, for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you, that I may not cut you off. Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction. For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another.” Isaiah 48:9-10  Can you sense the power, authority, and splendor of God? Our lives are trivial exercises in futility compared to the mere eternal existence of God.

The marvel of God is that He takes an interest in mankind. We are complete failures that God deems precious. The intent of God that is documented through scripture tells of His desire to restore mankind from his rebellious nature. Time after time we rebel against God as we waiver and seek to be our own god. Throughout our disobedience God remains faithful and true. ”Oh that you had paid attention to my commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea; your offspring would have been like the sand, and your descendants like its grains; their name would never be cut off or destroyed from before me.” Isaiah 48:18,19  What would our live be like if we fully submitted to God? Would all that we would deem loss be truly lost? ”Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth; break forth, O mountains, into singing! For the LORD has comforted his people and will have compassion on his afflicted.” Isaiah 49:13  We cannot begin to fathom what God is purposing to do through us.

Will you give up the fight that is occurring within your soul and abdicate the throne to God? Can there be anything that will keep God from working in our lives? Can His nature be thwarted? “Can the prey be taken from the mighty, or the captives of a tyrant be rescued? For thus says the LORD: “Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken, and the prey of the tyrant be rescued, for I will contend with those who contend with you, and I will save your children. I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh, and they shall be drunk with their own blood as with wine. Then all flesh shall know that I am the LORD your Savior, and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.” Isaiah 49:24-26  Will you take hope knowing that God is working? Not even your sinful nature is strong enough to thwart God. Will you abdicate the throne of life? Your life and existence depends upon your answer.

“In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” Isaiah 40:3-5

Within Isaiah chapter 40 a question of God and His existence is asked. Do we know God? Can we comprehend the greatness of God in its fullness? “Who has measured the Spirit of the LORD, or what man shows him his counsel? Whom did he consult, and who made him understand? Who taught him the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding?” Isaiah 40:13,14 Can we individually or collectively sway the intents of God? Can we even understand ourselves and our surroundings? It is impossible for us to comprehend the grand scale of who God is.

“To whom then will you liken God, or what likeness compare with him? An idol! A craftsman casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and casts for it silver chains. He who is too impoverished for an offering chooses wood that will not rot; he seeks out a skillful craftsman to set up an idol that will not move. Do you not know? Do you not hear? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to dwell in; who brings princes to nothing, and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness.” Isaiah 40:18-23

We set our hearts and minds to the task of defining God and in the process we sell our souls to an idol of our own creation. We must fully comprehend how great God is and how infinitesimally small we are. If we fail to appreciate how far below God we are we cannot grasp how great the condescending love of God is. Can you truly believe that the God of creation love you? Can you realize that this life is not about you but about God alone?

“To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him? says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name, by the greatness of his might, and because he is strong in power not one is missing. 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’? 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. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but 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.” Isaiah 40:25-31

As we come before God and seek out strength in Him we will find ourselves enable beyond all of our wildest expectations and dreams. We toil using our own strength not gaining one iota in life but God works mightily on our behalf. We must trust in God alone. It is God who holds us together and enables all things. “Who has performed and done this, calling the generations from the beginning? I, the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he.” Isaiah 41:4 When the way seems closed and it is difficult to imagine any hope for tomorrow that is where God shows Himself to be truly God. We must give up our self reliance and depend full on the wonderful grace of God. ”When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue is parched with thirst, I the LORD will answer them; I the God of Israel will not forsake them. I will open rivers on the bare heights, and fountains in the midst of the valleys. I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.” Isaiah 41:17,18 Will you place your hope and trust in the sufficiency of God? Will you believe that God is able? The decision is yours to make today; what will you say?

“For in that day everyone shall cast away his idols of silver and his idols of gold, which your hands have sinfully made for you.” Isaiah 31:7  I implore you to throw aside the idols that sway you away from intimate fellowship with God. It is all too easy to become consumed by the trinkets we accumulate and forget our true hope is only in Jesus Christ. Will you fix your mind on Jesus Christ and the hope that we have in Him? Will you stand firm on the foundation that is found in Jesus Christ? ”But he who is noble plans noble things, and on noble things he stands.” Isaiah 32:8 Will you plan today to focus on Jesus? What would happen if today you volitionally chose to set your mind on the things of God. What a wonderful day it will be when we consciously cast aside the encumbering idols that we have been dragging through life.

“And he will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the LORD has spoken.” Isaiah 25:7,8 The reality of our salvation is that God has enabled us to trust wholly and fully in Jesus Christ and through that trust the bonds to our old fears and failure are abolished.

“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock. For he has humbled the inhabitants of the height, the lofty city. He lays it low, lays it low to the ground, casts it to the dust.” Isaiah 26:3-5  Will you trust in God? An inexplicable peace is present in the lives of all who keep their minds fixed upon God. The trust we express in God is grounded in eternity. Do not seek to see with your eyes but choose to see by faith alone.

What state did the people of Israel live in when the word of the Lord came to Isaiah? Did the Israelites stand out as the people of God? The Israelites were living selfishly to satisfy their own desires. The people had fallen away from loving God with all their heart, mind, soul, and strength. People left their true love of God and choose to follow practice and tradition instead of God. In the midst of the this situation the word of God was spoken through Isaiah.

The warning from Isaiah spoken to every generation is to not forget God. In the midst of a world that is consistently evil the people of God should set themselves apart from the ways so the world. ”Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.”Isaiah 1:16,17  What would happen if we sought to cease doing evil and pursue good? What if God’s true justice was our motivation and ambition?

“Their land is filled with idols; they bow down to the work of their hands, to what their own fingers have made.” Isaiah 2:8  What have our hands built? What do we take pride in? What do we treasure as priceless and worthy of worship? Will these things stand the test of time? The message is clear that we must guard ourselves from the encroaching taint of the world around us. The practices of the world will seem enticing but they will only lead to death. A day is quickly approaching when all that we have collected and acquired will become true vanity. “For the LORD of hosts has a day against all that is proud and lofty, against all that is lifted up-and it shall be brought low; against all the cedars of Lebanon, lofty and lifted up; and against all the oaks of Bashan; against all the lofty mountains, and against all the uplifted hills; against every high tower, and against every fortified wall; against all the ships of Tarshish, and against all the beautiful craft.” Isaiah 2:12-16  Don’t place your hope in possessions. Find your hope in the saving grace of God.

The beautiful truth that fulfillment is sourced in God alone offers hope for this foolish world. When we embrace the truth that God enables our desire for wholeness we have the birth of great release and freedom. God loves us. He desires to release us from the the bondage we live in but the great mystery is that He has given us a choice to reject this gracious gift. Why do we choose to reject God’s gift of salvation? What is so alluring about the world? We must embrace the life giving salvation provided by Jesus Christ through His sacrifice on the cross of Calvary. Will you give up and let the potent grace of God wash over you?

Our worth is defined by our definition of God and what He has done for us. Do you see that longing in your heart to know God in a deeply intimate way. Why do we desire God? We long for Him because He designed this longing within us. “He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil-this is God’s gift to man.” Ecclesiastes 3:11-13  You are beautiful. You are loved. You have hope. Will you run to this source of joy? God will be enable your beauty, your love, and your hope. Do not turn away from Him.

As Solomon wrote, ”But all this I laid to heart, examining it all, how the righteous and the wise and their deeds are in the hand of God. Whether it is love or hate, man does not know; both are before him. It is the same for all, since the same event happens to the righteous and the wicked, to the good and the evil, to the clean and the unclean, to him who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice. As the good one is, so is the sinner, and he who swears is as he who shuns an oath. This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that the same event happens to all. Also, the hearts of the children of man are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead.” Ecclesiastes 9:1-3  There is no one who is righteous through his own merit. We can easily believe ourselves to be capable of attaining righteousness but no matter how far we strive and toil we will always fall short. Our toiling to obtain hope is complete vanity and we must cease striving and rest in God’s sufficient grace. Can you rest in the wonderfully healing grace of God? Have you realized that God doesn’t care who or what you are before he welcomes you into His loving arms. Cease striving know God!

Choose today whether you will love and serve God, ”For man does not know his time. Like fish that are taken in an evil net, and like birds that are caught in a snare, so the children of man are snared at an evil time, when it suddenly falls upon them.” Ecclesiastes 9:12 Do not be consumed by the evil snares of the world around you. Place your hope and trust in Jesus Christ alone and you will find the strength you crave in Him.

“The Lord is far from the wicked, but He hears the prayer of the righteous… The fear of the Lord is the instruction for wisdom, and before honor comes humility.” Proverbs 15:29,33  How is distance from God measured? What can be seen in our lives that tells of the distance that is between God and us? Distance is truly a heart issue and what we delight in we will feel closer to. Do you delight in God? Do you find your hope and help in God? “The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answers of the tongue is from the Lord. All the ways of a man are clean in his own sight, but the Lord weighs the motives. Commit your works to the Lord and your plans will be established. The Lord has made everything for its own purpose, even the wicked for the day of evil.”Proverbs 16:1-4  Are your own thoughts and feelings the motivating factor of your life? Do you strive to obtain glory for your deeds? Will you rather commit your way to the Lord and delight in Him?

There must be a point in your life that you choose whether you will serve God our yourself. God knows all that we do. There is no loophole that allows or affords us to live for ourselves and to obtain God’s salvation. A choice must be made. “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before stumbling. It is better to be humble in spirit with the lowly than to divide the spoil with the proud. He who gives attention to the word will find good, and blessed is he who trusts in the Lord.” Proverbs 16:18-20 We must in humility acknowledge that we are incapable of saving ourselves. We must make the critical choice that God is the only one who is able to save us from our helpless state. Will you embrace the wonderful wisdom found in the grace of God? The fearfully wondrous God of creation is present before you ready to release you from the bonds of depravity that ensnarl you. Will you commit your way to the Lord?  Stop striving and know that God is God and His way is the way of hope. Rest in the truth that God has made a way for you.