Isaiah_25
Scripture - What stood out?Isaiah 25:1 Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done wonderful things, things planned long ago.Observation - What does it say?
In this chapter the prophet Isaiah continues to deliver God’s message which forecasts the undoing of the nation of Moab, reveals the might of God, His character and predicts God’s future victory. Understanding - What does it mean?I remember reading the bible at an early age and even listening to certain songs and thinking to myself, there certainly is a lot of hyperbole to describe this God person. While reading verse 1 of this chapter the words “perfect faithfulness” and “wonderful” stood out to me. And for the briefest moment I remembered how I once thought of descriptors like this as exaggerated prose to describe this mysteriously perfect Creator.But that is no longer the case for me. I’m not sure when the shift happened, but it did. To say that God is perfectly faithful isn’t Isaiah’s attempt at hyperbole. It’s an accurate description. And as I held on to this thought I read about Paul battling with the thorn in his flesh, a messenger from satan. In 2 Corinthians 12:8-9 he writes “Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” Life Application - How can I apply this to my life today?I don’t ever want to lose the perspective that God is perfectly faithful doing wonderful things planned long ago. And my hope is that if I hang onto that, then when I am asking God to remove some of my thorns, I will be able to accept it more easily when God tells me “My grace is sufficient. My power is made perfect in weakness.” Lord, may I continue to learn about Your true nature and retain it in my heart and my spirit. Continue to guide my understanding of You.In the name of Jesus, amen. -kenneth lee