Tuesday, April 14th, 2009

Tuesday, April 14th, 2009

Isaiah 40:8
The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.

A simple verse, a powerful meaning. Life is transitory, it comes and it goes. It ebbs and it flows. Things are created and they are destroyed. Things are made and unmade. Things grow, and things fade. People are born and they die. People live in this world, but they live also in the next. Everything on this earth will die, but the souls of men are immortal.

Consider the grass, it grows up in a short time period, then, under the hot sun, withers away. Consider a flower, it comes up for a short time, begins to fade, then dies. All except the soul's of men in this creation have a beginning and an ending. There is nothing I can look at in this world and be sure that it will be there tomorrow. There is no physical object that I can count on. Really, in this world, there is nothing I can count on.

Also, consider all of the people, oh my soul, who have let you down. Consider all those that you have let down. How many empty words have been told to you that were just that? How many promises were made to you that weren't kept? How many promises have you made that you didn't keep? Is there anything or anyone that I can rely on?

All is but a moment away from death and destruction, all the words of men and women are about as fleeting as a flower or grass. Can I count on anything?

Then the words of the prophet ring into my ears loud and clear. He tells me that there is something that can be trusted. There is someone who I can rely on. There is someone's words that I can absolutely trust.

Can you hear the prophet, oh my soul, "The word of my God will stand forever." There is someone and something that can be counted on through thick and thin, in good times and in bad. Whether the end of the world approaches, or trouble is all around me. Whether family members pass away, dear friends pass away, and all my possessions are destroyed, and my body as well, there is one surety. God's word is true, and it will always be so.

God is unchangeable and eternal, thus, when the Unchangeable says something, I can rest assured that it will occur. But really, it is not just because He is unchangeable, it is also because He is omnipotent, all powerful. When He says something, He has the unlimited power to back it up. God cannot lie, thus every word, every promise, every thing that He says WILL come to pass, I can count on it.

Finally, a thought to bring this to my heart. "In the beginning was the word and the word was with God, and the word was God." Jesus Christ is the Word of God, He is the exegeter, the explainer of God. Thus, as God speaks, He speaks through His Son, and every word will come to pass. We have been told His words by and through the revelation of Jesus Christ. It is in Him I stand today...clean, forgiven, and happy.

Oh my soul, don't take the words of God lightly, they are life and they are truth. Every word of God is like a drop of water to a weary and thirsty soul. Jesus Christ is the living water, and He will give me water of which will never allow me to thirst again. Let me be consumed with the truth and power of your word. Let me hang on every word that you have written in your word. And most importantly, let me hang on the Word that was made flesh and dwelt among us. Amen.