Just as cramming for an exam is ineffective so also is a life without a fear of God. How do we learn to fear God? We must know God by learning who He is. We must ”Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls.” Jeremiah 6:16  By looking back upon who God is and what He has done throughout the lives of those who have gone before us we learn to fear Him. This fear is birthed out of our reverent love for God. Listen to God and find hope in Him.

The people of Israel consistently wandered from their devotion to God. The things of life continually crowded into their lives and upon the slippery slope of apathy and lethargy idols took the throne of their lives. The wonderful truth that God was faithful regardless of the actions of the Israelites is our hope. God worked to redeem Israel and myself, even as we were in our sinful state. What do we do when we find ourselves wandering? What happens when our devotion seems to wain? We must first and foremost remember that God is the faithful constant. We are the ones who wander, waver, and wain. Remember that the path traveled is governed by God. He enables us to walk in Him. Rest knowing that your life is in His hands. Your present circumstances may not transform in an instant but your outlook will be at peace in Him.

The book of Isaiah is a story of God’s faithful love toward those He calls His own. Despite repeated rebellion, God was not thwarted. The continual thread of Isaiah is one of God bringing hope, healing, and wholeness to a hurting world. The promised hope is glimpsed throughout Isaiah. “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns.’ The voice of your watchmen-they lift up their voice; together they sing for joy; for eye to eye they see the return of the LORD to Zion.” Isaiah 52:7,8 The truth found in Isaiah is that God restores. He restores the physically broken, the emotionally persecuted, and the hopelessly lost souls of the world.

The death of Jesus Christ is the hope that we live for today and what the people in Isaiah awaited for with a fervent expectancy. Today we are awaiting again in a fervent expectancy of the day when God will return again. Trust in the hope that is secured in the person of Jesus Christ. Rest in His all sufficient sacrifice as you await His return. Never forget that your hope is secured in Him.

“Thus says the LORD: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool; what is the house that you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest? All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the LORD. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.” Isaiah 66:1,2  What did you note from verses 1 and 2? There is a great truth that is destined to bring encouragement. Our identity is defined in these verses. ”For as new heavens and the new earth that I make shall remain before me, says the LORD, so shall your offspring and your name remain. From new moon to new moon, and from Sabbath to Sabbath, all flesh shall come to worship before me, declares the LORD.” Isaiah 66:22,23 The thought is repeated at the close of Isaiah 66. Can you see the hope given?

In the midst of the minutia a simple fact is given. God made all that was, is, and will be. Can you understand this marvelous fact? All that we see is ordered and created by God. This world is not a chaos driven roller coaster ride that we just have to endure. God is in control and His existence is our hope. There are a great many details that Christians will choose to debate but it is of greater importance to dwell and meditate on the truth that God was, is, and will be our everything. There is no need, desire, or longing that cannot be satisfied by knowing God. What needs do you have? Are there desires that overwhelm you? Has this broken world caused you to long for more? Turn to God and you will find satisfaction.

Do you wish for a time such as the ones of the Bible where God was evidently seen by a pillar of fire and His glorious presence could be experienced in a very tangible way? You are not alone; In the days of Isaiah the people of Israel were looking back upon their past desiring to know God in the ways that their forefathers did. ”Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might quake at your presence- as when fire kindles brushwood and the fire causes water to boil- to make your name known to your adversaries, and that the nations might tremble at your presence! When you did awesome things that we did not look for, you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence. From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides you, who acts for those who wait for him.” Isaiah 64:1-4  Why do we desire the days of yesterday’s faith? As we look back on the faith of our predecessors it is easy to look at the highs of life and think that there were never any times despair or trouble. Could that truly be the case? Can any man or woman live a life of perfect devotion to God?

As we see in Isaiah 64 and 65 humanity is prone to evil and idolatry as our sinfulness strives against God. We are deluded and disillusioned into believing that we can never be complete in God. The twisted lies that the devil has devised against our souls are effective and alluring. We are easily led away from God and towards the life of despairing depression. We need to fix our eyes on God. We need to remember that Jesus Christ died for us, Jesus Christ rose from the grave for us, Jesus Christ live to intercede for us. We must remember as the remnant of Israel did in their exilic captivity that God is faithful and hope is constant within Him. No matter where in life you must trust God.

Does God restore lives? Does God heal? Does God bring wholeness? ”They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat; for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labor in vain or bear children for calamity, for they shall be the offspring of the blessed of the LORD, and their descendants with them. Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear. The wolf and the lamb shall graze together; the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain,” says the LORD.” Isaiah 65:22-25  Will you trust God to make you whole and complete? God will where you cannot. Trust Him.

“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.

For anyone who has found themselves despairing over life; I implore you to look at a nation who experienced great highs and ultimate lows as they learned to follow a God who loved them. The people of Israel were consistent in their inconsistent devotion to God. When life became easy they would stay from God only to remember him in the midst of despair. God was compassionate to the cries of his beloved, “Whereas you have been forsaken and hated, with no one passing through, I will make you majestic forever, a joy from age to age. You shall suck the milk of nations; you shall nurse at the breast of kings; and you shall know that I, the LORD, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.” Isaiah 60:15,16

Can you see the brilliance that is contained in the words of God? Hope is not dependent upon our ability or the luck we have. We cannot rely on anything but God for our hope. ”Your sun shall no more go down, nor your moon withdraw itself; for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your days of mourning shall be ended.” Isaiah 60:20  Hope built on anything other than God is truly not hope. We cannot presume to believe that we can attain hope apart from God. ”The least one shall become a clan, and the smallest one a mighty nation; I am the LORD; in its time I will hasten it.” Isaiah 60:22  We are made whole and complete in God and there is no want or desire when we are in God because He is our everything.

“I will greatly rejoice in the LORD; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the earth brings forth its sprouts, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to sprout up before all the nations.” Isaiah 61:10,11  Some two thousand years ago God Incarnate, Jesus Christ, Our Hope, came to earth to pay the complete penalty for our sin and restore our fellowship with God. God lavishly bestowed grace upon us so that we could live. We are a part of His great story and plan to restore creation. Will you join in this great adventure? Will you trust in the death of Jesus Christ? Will you depend on a dependable God?

The beauty of God’s grace is that it is not and exclusive club that requires premium membership. The wonderful salvation of God is available to everyone who calls out to God. Isaiah 56 proclaims the all inclusiveness of God’s grace. “Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the LORD say, ‘The LORD will surely separate me from his people’; and let not the eunuch say, ‘Behold, I am a dry tree.’ For thus says the LORD: ‘To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose the things that please me and hold fast my covenant, I will give in my house and within my walls a monument and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off.’” Isaiah 56:3-5  God defines worth where there is worthlessness. God displays His faithful grace to the broken of this world. God includes those who dwell on the fringe of society, culture, and acceptance. Even when the battle lies in our mind God destroys the voice of doubt and proclaims worth. Are you filled with hope because of God?

Are you an enemy of God? Do you believe that you can do anything you set your heart towards? Has pride overtake your life? You are living a life that will not last forever. God promises that He will not strive against the evil of this world forever. “For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: ‘I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite. For I will not contend forever, nor will I always be angry; for the spirit would grow faint before me, and the breath of life that I made.’” Isaiah 57:15,16

The time has come for you to choose today who you will serve. I cannot make you decide today to follow God. The choice is yours to make. God may be the ethereal being to you who exists only in thought but I challenge you to dwell upon the truths found in Scripture. I challenge you to cry out for help. God restores. God renews. God loves. Turn aside from your life of idols and seek out God.

The answer to finding hope in despair is found in Isaiah 54. Hope for the hopeless. Joy for the downcast. Love for the unloved. “Fear not, for you will not be ashamed; be not confounded, for you will not be disgraced; for you will forget the shame of your youth, and the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more. For your Maker is your husband, the LORD of hosts is his name; and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth he is called. For the LORD has called you like a wife deserted and grieved in spirit, like a wife of youth when she is cast off, says your God.” Isaiah 54:4-6  We are complete only when we are with God. There is no other thing in heaven or on earth that will satisfy the desires of our hearts. We must identify ourselves with God alone.

Do you have to win this wonderful completeness that is found in God? Do we have to start this process and get to the benchmark of success before God will acknowledge us? “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.” Isaiah 55:1,2  The wonderful truth of God’s love is present in Isaiah 55. Come and drink anyone who thirsts. Come and drink freely no money can buy this drink because there is no price. The love of God is freely given. The idea of something being free is contrary to the ideologies we encounter on a daily basis. The world tells us that we must work hard to fulfill all of our desires. God is telling us that we need not toil for His love because it has been extend towards us long before we ever knew we were desiring that great love. Do not waste your life striving to make yourself complete. Trust in God alone to make you whole.

Listen to the words in Isaiah. Realize these words are speaking to your condition. Will you seek the LORD while he may be found? Will you call upon him while he is near? God is ever present and waiting for you to come to Him. You need not clean up your life before coming to Him. Will you start your journey of faith? Do you believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sin? Today can be the beginning of your hope filled future. Will you trust? Will you believe?

I would love to do nothing short of retyping the hope drenched text from Isaiah 52 and 53 but I know that it would be of greater worth for you to read it yourself today. Remember that as you read that this is the one who died for your sins. He was despised for you. He was stricken for you. He was afflicted for you. He was crushed for you. He died for you.

“He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.” Isaiah 53:3

“He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.” Isaiah 53:7

“Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.” Isaiah 53:10

Jesus Christ died as a ransom for many. Will you today place your hope and trust in His death on the cross of Calvary? He is waiting for you. He is lovingly waiting to welcome you home. Will you embrace this grace of God?

“My righteousness draws near, my salvation has gone out, and my arms will judge the peoples; the coastlands hope for me, and for my arm they wait. Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look at the earth beneath; for the heavens vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment, and they who dwell in it will die in like manner; but my salvation will be forever, and my righteousness will never be dismayed.” Isaiah 51:5,6  Once, for all time Jesus Christ paid the penalty for our sin and transgression. We must abide in the wonderful truth found in the cross of Calvary. God has taken hold of His own people and His work will never falter or diminish. ”Behold, the Lord GOD helps me; who will declare me guilty? Behold, all of them will wear out like a garment; the moth will eat them up. Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the voice of his servant? Let him who walks in darkness and has no light trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God.” Isaiah 50:9,10

Take the words of God to heart and find peace for your weary soul. When your health fades away. When your money cannot buy happiness. When love fades over time. Remember the words of God, “I, I am he who comforts you; who are you that you are afraid of man who dies, of the son of man who is made like grass, and have forgotten the LORD, your Maker, who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth, and you fear continually all the day because of the wrath of the oppressor, when he sets himself to destroy? And where is the wrath of the oppressor? He who is bowed down shall speedily be released; he shall not die and go down to the pit, neither shall his bread be lacking. I am the LORD your God, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar- the LORD of hosts is his name.” Isaiah 51:12-15 Will you trust in the Lord? Will you trust in the provision of Jesus Christ? This is who you are.