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Tag: Isaiah

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Just a week ago, we were sharing New Year’s blessings with all our friends and family.  I was wishing them happiness, peace, prosperity and good health.  “May this be your best year ever,” I would say.  “I wish you all the best.”  I was optimistic for good things to happen, but the truth of the matter is that nothing much changes just because we turn over a new page on the calendar.  We still face the same rebellious children, the health scares, the unhappy marriages, the financial difficulties, the unexpected tragedies.  It’s just that now we are facing them when we had our expectations set for something so much higher, just because the year got a new number.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for being optimistic, but saying “Happy New Year” doesn’t take all our troubles away.

Many years ago, when I was in my first year of university, I learned a new song, well new to me anyway.  One of the verses said, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee.”  This comes from the King James Version of Isaiah 26:3 which in its entirety says, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusteth in thee.”  In more contemporary English that might be, “You will give perfect peace to those who stay focused on you because they trust in you.”  What a great promise that is!

This verse doesn’t mean that we will be exempt from all trials or heartaches, for we know that in this world we will have trouble. (John 16:33)  The Apostle Paul knew what it was like to have trouble, (II Corinthians 11:23-27) but based on Isaiah 26:3, he wrote the very practical advice found in Philippians 4:6-7.  Pray and give thanks.  We will face situations that seem unbearable to us, but if we focus on God, bring all our cares to Him in prayer and thank Him for His many blessings to us, He will grant us a peace that defies explanation, peace that is not like the world gives (John 14:27), peace that will protect our hearts and minds.

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In my last two posts I’ve talked about the fact that there is trouble in this world, and it is a good thing to wait on the Lord. That is because God is reliable and trustworthy. In the King James Version, Isaiah 40:8 says that the word of our God shall stand forever. He assures us that He will keep His promises, no matter what circumstances we may face and whether or not we always understand how or know when.

The Word of God will last and be reliable forever, even though all else is unreliable and passes away. The metaphor that is used here is that the grass dries up and the flowers wither. In Isaiah 40:6-7 we can see that the grass and flowers are referring to humanity and people’s promises. It is sometimes tempting, when we hear someone give a message that we agree with, or that we long for, to start following, even worshipping, that person. It happens often with celebrities, and it happens with evangelists. It happened with Harold Camping. (May 23, 2011) When Camping said that the world was going to end, people gave up everything they had—some even took their own lives—because they believed the man, rather than trusting the Word of God. Joyce Meyer puts it simply, “Follow God, not people.”

Isaiah 40:10-11 indicate that the Word of God will bring deliverance, and that He cares for us. That love and salvation was made human in the person of Jesus. (John 1:1-5) Jesus’ sacrifice at the cross made it possible for us to have eternal salvation and to have an eternal connection with God who cares so deeply for us that He gave up His own Son to redeem us. Jesus is the fulfillment of the Word. (Matthew 5:17) Because of Him we can be adopted into God’s family, and we can trust His promises both now and forevermore.

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I have said many times in my blog posts that God has a plan for our lives. Many verses in the Bible confirm this. Jeremiah 29:11 tells us that His plans are to prosper us and not to harm us; they are to give us a future and a hope. John 10:10 says that Jesus came to give us abundant life. Ephesians 3:20 promises more than we could ask or imagine. Philippians 4:19 tells us that our needs will be supplied according to His glorious riches. So, God’s plan for us is a good plan, but that doesn’t mean that it will be one that we understand.

I have often tried to figure out God’s plan for my life, and then tried to make it happen. Although I think it is a wise thing to obey God’s Word, and to try to live a life that is pleasing to Him, trying to figure out His plans can be an exercise in frustration. Isaiah 55:8-9 tells us that His plans are not like our plans, and His deeds are not like our deeds. Just as the sky is higher than the earth, so are His ways higher than ours. They are beyond our comprehension because He is God, and we are not.

What we need to do is to give ourselves over to Him. Ask Him to lead us in the path that He wants for us, and trust Him to keep His promises. Earlier in Isaiah 55, we are invited to come to God to receive His blessing without cost. This is referring to salvation and the promise of eternal blessings, but by giving our lives over to Him we can also depend on all of the other promises of an abundant life now. He really does have a better plan for our lives than we could make for ourselves. It won’t necessarily be easier, but it will be better, and it will be for eternity.