Thursday, April 16th, 2009

Thursday, April 16th, 2009
Isaiah 40:21-25
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. Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth,when he blows on them, and they wither, and the tempest carries them off like stubble. To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him? says the Holy One.

Isaiah here, speaking of the greatness of God, the insufficiency of idols, and the absolute need to rely on God for all things waxes eloquently here.

Let me paraphrase this passage, "Don't you get it? Aren't you listening? From your very birth, you have seen the marvels of the earth. Every day that you live is another testimony too the greatness and power of God. Can you give yourself your next breath? Do you have the power to give and take away life? When you look up into the heavens, into the sky, at the mountains, the clouds, can't you see how small and insignificant you are? When you fly in an airplane, and get to 30,000 feet, and can't even see the biggest building in the world, can you fathom it? Did you create it? Are you in charge of it? No, it is God, He is the one who created all of this. Not only that, but He sits in heaven, sustaining all life, sustaining all existence, and sees man, and like when we are up in an airplane, looking down at the tiny little house, so God looks down and sees us. Comparatively speaking, God is the one in the plane, and we are the tiny little creatures on the ground. Yet, it is much more than that. To God, the skies are like a curtain, He parts and moves them, as if to dwell in them. The sky above, and all the earth beneath is His. He owns them, He created them, and He by His very infinite power keeps them in existence. If God were to stop, to let go for one nano-second, the entire universe as we know it would cease to exist. So, it is God who is sovereign over nations. It is God who has the heart of princes in His hand. These great princes and kings of the world, these great kingdoms that man has established, in comparison to what has been said can be seen to be absolutely nothing, and insignificant. Nations, kings and princes can be compared to a piece of grass, or a flower, they are quickly planted, they quickly grown, their root is barely in the ground, and then God like a wind blows on them and they are gone. The nations are like dust to be blown away in the wind. This is the way the boasting of the world is, it is as nothing. Thus, if you try to make an analogy, or compare God with anything in this life, it won't work. God is not like anything or anyone that exists. God is the absolute Holy and righteous one."

So, here I am this morning, sitting in my little house, in my little chair, in my little body, with my little mind, thinking I am something. What foolishness to think that I am something, to be prideful and arrogant, when the God of the universe is so great. Let me be humble this morning, and realize that my desires, wants and needs should be in submission to the Lord, and I should be willing to give up my "rights" to others, because really, I am something even smaller than a drop in a bucket, because the nations are a drop in the bucket. I am infinitesimally nothing in comparison to God.

An ode to my Creator:

All Glorious, all Powerful, Almighty, Victorious.
Full of mercy toward the righteous and full of wrath towards the wicked.
All Righteous, all Holy, Father of lights, the Great Gift-giver.
Savior, Friend, Brother, Lover, Father, Leader, Keeper, Protector.
Alpha, Omega, First and Last.
The I AM, the ever-existing One.
The Door, the Bread of Life, the Way, the Truth and the Life.
The Great Shepherd, the Resurrection and the Life.
Infinite, Eternal, Unchangeable.
Full of Truth and Goodness.
Omniscient, Omnipresent, Omnipotent.

Oh, my God, earnestly I seek you, my soul faints for you, my soul thirsts for you as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. Give me your Spirit today. Pour out afresh and anew on me a heart that will not be satisfied with anything in this world. Set my heart upon you, give my soul contentment only in you. May the meditations of my mind and thoughts of my heart be pleasing in your site, my Strength and my Redeemer. Help me to live in Christ today. Help me to see that all of my sins have been forgive in Jesus Christ, and that all of my hope lies in Him. May I share His love with others today. Amen.