Strength for What Lies Ahead Isaiah 40: 25-31 A little over 13 years ago, the year before our family came to Immanuel, we took a much anticipated vacation with another family to the Bahamas. It was one of those vacations that had so many things about it to remember, especially how it started. We arrived at the Nassau airport as scheduled, but there was only one glitch… none of our checked baggage arrived. And to make matters worse, it would be about 14 hrs before it finally did arrive. Unfortunately, in our carry-on bags (in a mistake we will never make again!) we didn’t think to pack our bathing suits or even most of our toiletries. The latter we could make due between the two families. As it turned out, only Stephen had a pair of shorts that could pass for swimming trunks, and so they we were the first night, sitting next to the pool in our travel clothes watching our 7 year old son play in the sprinklers and the pool where we stayed. But even he didn’t play in the water that long because he felt bad for the rest of us. All of us are about to embark on a journey into the unknown. We don’t know what exactly lies in store for us in the next few months (although we’re fairly certain it isn’t a tropical paradise!). But as we set out on this journey together, in similar number to our family vacation, there are two things that we’re going to need to pack into our carry on luggage- two things that we need to keep close at all times that will be indispensable as we travel together through the upcoming months. Let’s see what they are as we continue our study of Isaiah 40. First of all, we need to face the upcoming days with the knowledge of God’s watchful care over us. You may remember from last week that when we looked at verse 26 and saw how God made the stars, and knows the stars, and brings them out one by one, it meant that He ordered them the way an officer would order His troops. So armed with that knowledge, Israel would be foolish to complain in verse 27 or say that their way is hidden from the Lord, or that He disregarded their cause. The reasoning being, if God created all the stars and the heavens and everything in them and is concerned about their order and arrangement, why wouldn’t He be concerned about the order and arrangement of we humans, who He created in His image? The verb tenses in the first half of verse 27 are very important and especially relevant for us as we enter into the days ahead. The verbs are actually in the future tense, which could be reflected in the subjunctive mood. So, v. 27 could read- “Why would you complain, Jacob; Why would you say, Israel.” Why would you complain about or say that God is not concerned with His people when there is so much evidence to the contrary? God’s power in creation, all of the attributes that distinguish Him from all other gods, isn’t that enough proof for you? But just in case it’s not, Isaiah’s prophecy also appeals to how God has specifically worked among His chosen people. 1 There is more than enough evidence to know that God would watch over and care for them. And reinforced in verse 28 are the same scolding questions we saw last week in verse 21- “Do you not know? Have you not heard?” God’s people have known, they’ve known His power and beheld His attributes based on creation, based on all they see around them. We need to keep in mind that if we think we feel constricted now, just wait for the next several weeks. Not just the mandated state requirements, but the weather, and the brevity of daylight, and the lack of changes in scenery options, all of these constrictions, if we’re not careful, are going to constrict our view of God as well. One practical thing we can all do is to go outside as frequently as we can. We need to force ourselves, if need be, to go for walks or runs, or at least get out in our cars to where we can see the sky, and the forest preserves, and all God has created because the world is a whole lot bigger than what we will experience it through our COVID-colored glasses! Remember, GOD IS BIGGER, He’s bigger than our restricted, constrained world, we know this, and need to take the measures of getting out, even in the cold, to help us remember. But as we saw last week, the people of Israel were privileged not only because of what they know from viewing creation; but because of what they had heard. God had moved miraculously and powerfully among Israel, among Jacob, His covenant people, and they were part of that privilege. And so are we, as members of His new covenant in Christ. Have we not heard… yes, we have. Many of us were raised or at least are familiar with the stories of Scripture, and the truth of God’s Word. And we need to make sure, particularly in the upcoming months that we continue to hear. And of course, the best way to continue to hear is to continually read His Word. We all know there will be no shortage of options for spending our time these upcoming months. There are plenty of news feeds to read, blogs and social media to explore, websites to surf, shows to binge watch. There are a lot of good books we can get to, no shortage of reporting and spins on the major events of COVID, and the transfer of leadership in our nation, and employment and economic and stock market concerns, and all of these aspects of our lives are going to continue to grow in magnitude. And if we’re not careful all of these things will become bigger than God in our eyes and influence. Yes, as the privileged people of God, we have heard, but we need to continue to hear. In the upcoming weeks we are going to need to continually hear from God’s Word, otherwise we will be taken captive and carried into exile with the cacophony of other voices speaking to us. And without consistently hearing of His voice, the restrictive, constrictive ways of our lives will cause our view of God to constrict and our knowledge of His watchful care over us. But just in case we need more evidence of God’s ability to take care of us, we see further descriptions in the rest of v. 28. Four powerful statements finish the verse: He is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth, He never grows weary or tired, His understanding no one can fathom. Think of the limitless nature of God’s attributes in those four 2 loaded statements! Think how absurd it was for Isaiah’s audience to believe in gods made with human hands! Hear with me again, along with Israel or Jacob, one of the great stories of God’s limitless power. About 100 years before Isaiah’s prophecy, another prophet, Elijah experienced one of the great showdowns of deities ever recorded. Actually, it wasn’t much of a showdown, because it was between the one true God, and the false Baal god that really didn’t even exist. You might be familiar with the story. The Baal prophets prepare a sacrifice on Mt. Carmel, they cry out, cut themselves, and do all they can to implore their god to show himself and receive their sacrifice, and of course nothing happens. And then it’s Elijah’s turn, and just to make things interesting, he inundates the sacrifice he prepares by pouring 4 pitchers of water over it… 3 different times! All of this is the prelude to him calling on the one true God to consume the sacrifice. Even having fire show up at all would be a win, but consume the sacrifice? Don’t we all know that when water meets fire, water wins? And so, Elijah calls on God and fire immediately consumes the sacrifice and all the water was licked up and the ground was left completely dry and smoldering. End of contest. But before it was game over, Elijah got in some righteous game-man-ship. Before their failure and God’s powerful display, Elijah got to talk some trash. He told the Baal prophets to cry out louder, that maybe their efforts weren’t strong or sincere enough. And then he said in one of the great lines of righteous antagonism in Scripture: “Perhaps your god is occupied or gone on a journey, or needs to be awakened, or, (in a variation that some versions translate it), maybe he’s gone to the bathroom?!” How absurd to compare the gods humans manufacture with the One true God, the One who is everlasting, created all things, never grows weary, and no one can truly fathom! We know, we’ve heard. We don’t have to construct something visible to know the invisible God is watching and will be watching over us. If the last several months of the virus have taught us anything, it’s that something does not have to be visible in order to have tremendous power; how much more so the God who is watching over us.