Just a couple simple thoughts from Isaiah 46

As I sat in bed last night ending a really, really nice weekend, I opened up my Bible to Isaiah where I've been spending a bit of time recently. Now I'm not an Isaiah scholar and don't even begin to pretend to be, but I've picked up some really encouraging themes present about my God that have been an encouragement to my heart. I'll share one from last night today:

Isaiah 46: 3-11

“Listen to me, O house of Jacob,

all the remnant of the house of Israel,

who have been borne by me from before your birth,

carried from the womb;

even to your old age I am he,

and to gray hairs I will carry you.

I have made, and I will bear;

I will carry and will save.

“To whom will you liken me and make me equal,

and compare me, that we may be alike?

Those who lavish gold from the purse,

and weigh out silver in the scales,

hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god;

then they fall down and worship!

They lift it to their shoulders, they carry it,

they set it in its place, and it stands there;

it cannot move from its place.

If one cries to it, it does not answer

or save him from his trouble.

“Remember this and stand firm,

recall it to mind, you transgressors,

remember the former things of old;

for I am God, and there is no other;

I am God, and there is none like me,

declaring the end from the beginning

and from ancient times things not yet done,

saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,

and I will accomplish all my purpose,’

calling a bird of prey from the east,

the man of my counsel from a far country.

I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass;

I have purposed, and I will do it.

Here's what got me. Verses 3-4 show the breadth of God's hand in our lives. We came from Him, He carried us through the womb of our mothers, and then took us all the way to old age, all the way to our gray hairs. There are some beautiful words written about love in this life between a man and woman in marriage and love so often looks like a man and woman walking through this life together into old age. Perhaps even to the point of one caring for the other through illness or suffering of some kind. Love sticks with a person, even when their youth has long fled, their waistlines have thickened, wrinkles formed from years of smiles and tears, and dementia has taken over the mind. Love stays and cares and that's what God is doing here. Walking with us into old age. Creating us, bearing our loads and often carrying us through life. We don't do it alone. He is there, and ultimately he delivers us. He saves us through His son. He loves us that deeply and purely.

Then God says, compare me. Compare me to the other gods people erect in their life. The wealthy have glitzy gods, and back then they literally had them formed into gods that they'd have made, carry home, and sit in a place where they could talk to it. But that little god couldn't do anything. It never moved from its place where it had been set. You could cry out to it, but it would never answer. I have lots of gods too, and while I wouldn't classify myself as wealthy by American standards, my heart still creates the same kinds of gods, desiring comfort, or security, or a Pinterest worthy living room, or perfectly obedient kids, or a little waistline, or Starbucks, or jewelry, or any one of the thousands of things that my heart vacillates between on any given day. And the true God says, 'Compare me.' Compare me to all those things and what stands? Who is bigger? Who has been at your side all this time? He has. My God has.

Remember this and stand firmly in this truth! God gets serious here. He just throws it out there, who He is.

for I am God, and there is no other;

I am God, and there is none like me,

declaring the end from the beginning

and from ancient times things not yet done,

saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,

and I will accomplish all my purpose,’

calling a bird of prey from the east,

the man of my counsel from a far country.

I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass;

I have purposed, and I will do it.

There just isn't anyone who compares to my God. He knows the beginning all the way to the end and He will accomplish everything he has set out to accomplish. From the beginning of time, to the end of this world, and all the details of my little life, He has spoken it all out, and He will bring it to pass. That is my God. He is good. And He will do it.