Passage: Isaiah 40:25-31
The Greatness of God.
25 To whom then will you compare me,
that I should be like him? says the Holy One.
26 Lift up your eyes on high and see:
who created these?
He who brings out their host by number,
calling them all by name,
by the greatness of his might,
and because he is strong in power
not one is missing.
27 Why do you say, O Jacob,
and speak, O Israel, "My way is hidden from the LORD,
and my right is disregarded by my God"?
28 Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
29 He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
30 Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
31 but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.
Journal: There is an epidemic in our country, as more and more people fight depression. Idolatry and depression are different pockets in the same pair of pants. Idolatry is thinking wrong thoughts about God. Depression is thinking wrong thoughts about yourself. Each of these adversely impact our greatest purpose, which is to give glory to God by our enjoyment of God. It is difficult to enjoy God if you are giving your time and attention [your worship] to other things, or if you are feeling despondent toward life.
There is no doubt that this despondency is the sum total of dealing with different challenges, some big and some small. I don't pretend to offer sure fire answers to these feelings, nor do I discount the reality of these feelings. However, God's word is very clear that God is intimately involved with all aspects of our life. The lining in the pocket of depression must be the feelings of loneliness and insignificance. Here, God is dealing with these thoughts head on. That is, we are never alone. That is, we are extremely significant. We need only to consider creation itself. God knew that man would need a redeemer. God knew that the redemption of man would be at great cost to Himself. Yet, He created us anyway. Thus, He considers His children so significant that He took on the agony to gain our redemption.
Is it a great mystery, therefore, that He alone is worthy of our worship? [v. 25 -- "To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him? says the Holy One."] Idolatry is useless, and yet it is a distraction brought from the evil one that we must deal with on a daily basis. This requires prayer.
Additionally, we indeed are significant to our Father. [v. 26 -- "Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name, by the greatness of his might, and because he is strong in power not one is missing."] He moves mountains and He saves sparrows. He knows us intimately and loves us beyond our ability to know. We can start feeling rightly about ourselves only when we begin to feel rightly about God. Our worship of Him and our feelings about our self are inextricably intertwined. A child of God is never alone and never abandoned. [John 10:27-30 -- "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one."]
Heard 'Round the House: Jill is giving me a follow up to the entrepreneurial undertaking of Luke, Alex and James that was highlighted yesterday. She read the flier constructed to advertise their landscape maintenance expertise, and it specifies that they will work between the hours of 11 am and 8 pm. She points out to Luke that this is the hottest part of the day. His partial explanation [to me at least] is that James likes to sleep in. Ah, the American dream. A business that doesn't adversely impact the other parts of your daily routine . . .
