Wednesday
Devotional
Read Isaiah 44: 21-28
Isa 44:21 Remember these things, O Jacob, and Israel, for you are my servant; I formed you; you are my servant; O Israel, you will not be forgotten by me.
Isa 44:22 I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud and your sins like mist; return to me, for I have redeemed you.
Isa 44:23 Sing, O heavens, for the LORD has done it; shout, O depths of the earth; break forth into singing, O mountains, O forest, and every tree in it! For the LORD has redeemed Jacob, and will be glorified in Israel.
Isa 44:24 Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, who formed you from the womb: "I am the LORD, who made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself,
Isa 44:25 who frustrates the signs of liars and makes fools of diviners, who turns wise men back and makes their knowledge foolish,
Isa 44:26 who confirms the word of his servant and fulfills the counsel of his messengers, who says of Jerusalem, 'She shall be inhabited,' and of the cities of Judah, 'They shall be built, and I will raise up their ruins';
Isa 44:27 who says to the deep, 'Be dry; I will dry up your rivers';
Isa 44:28 who says of Cyrus, 'He is my shepherd, and he shall fulfill all my purpose'; saying of Jerusalem, 'She shall be built,' and of the temple, 'Your foundation shall be laid.'"
Thoughts for the Day
One of the strongest assurances of care and provision of God is found in the book of Isaiah. Our lives as people of God are prone to the harshness of the day, due to the sin-contaminated environment we live in. As the Israelites realized, with life problems, wars, and sense of disillusionment, they sometimes thought that the Jehovah God, who redeemed their ancestors from the slavery of Egypt had abandoned them to their own fate; and as such developed total loss of faith in him.
Now, to assure them of his ever presence in their lives, God revealed his purpose through Isaiah. The assertion in this passage that said‘’ you will not be forgotten by me’’ is in line with chapter 49:15, which strongly rejected any sense of forgetfulness by him, of his people.
The fact that you might be going through some problems, and lost hope in finding answers, don’t indicate God’s impotence in your life; verse 23 of chapter 44, asks his people to sing over their situations and be joyous, why? Because the Lord has done it, what has he done? Answer, the promises of blessings to his people; verse 24-26, went on to remind us that he is the one who created us and the Universe.
Therefore, he is the one to focus our attention and faith on, and not on (babblers) false prophets, who would give fake hope of promises. God is keen that his people will be knowledgeable of his words that will guard to the truth and build a culture of faith in him.
He wants us to understand that only his word is absolute enough to confirm his promises. That, when he says you are going to be healed of your sickness, you will, if it is blessings, you will receive it. Verse 27-28, promised that even dry places in our lives would see breakthrough of growth.
He can use people we don’t know for our help, as angels who bear good tidings. Cyrus, who was mentioned in verse 28, was a pagan king of Persia, but God used him to help rebuild the ruins of Jerusalem. Our Cyrus could be close for our help, in someone we don’t know.
Prayer Focus:
God can bring answers to our situations, even when there is no prospect of that happening, at the time of suffering.
Prayer:
Dear Lord, open my spiritual eyes to see your bigness in my situation Amen!
