Isaiah 40:21-26 – Listen and Look
Listen and look. That’s what God tells us to do here. Pay attention to what you’re hearing. Don’t merely pay attention. Actually take action with what you’ve heard. And don’t just look, but actually understand what you’re looking at.
God directs His people to what they had heard. God’s people would be tempted to distrust God’s power and ability and willingness to save them when they would see the ungodly coming in like a flood. But they had been taught differently. They were responsible for what they had heard. They were responsible for what they had listened to in the temple and in their synagogues. We are responsible for what we hear when the Word of God is being read or preached. We must not only hear it with our ears, but heed it, believe it, and keep it in our hearts. And what particularly had they heard in the temple and in their synagogues? Well, He had told them of His mighty power over the nations. They heard that He not only created all that there is, but He continues actively to sustain all things. They had heard that not one great and mighty ruler would be able to go any farther than God allowed them to. All things are in God’s hands.
God tells them to look. ‘Look at who I am. Look at what I do. I am the God Who comes to save you. I am the God Who is incomparable.’ The skies speak of the glory of God, daytime or nighttime. Go out and look! That’s what God says. And you’ll notice something if you look long enough. You’ll see that everything goes on in an orderly way, because God works in an orderly way. All is in His control. Nothing is missing that should be there.
When you see the nations raging, when you see societies descending into folly, and when you see the winds and the waves towering about you, take heart, believer. Heed what you’ve heard. Pay attention to what you have seen. Your God in Jesus Christ might, for your good and His glory, lead you through some tough times. But every time, every single time, He will bring you through. Not one good thing that the Lord has promised shall fail. That is your promise in Jesus Christ.
Questions
- What have we been told about God?
- What can we see about God in the world around us?
Prayer Points
- Give thanks that the heavens declare the glory of God.
- Use prayer points from your congregation.
- Pray for family matters.