Isaiah 45:2-3   “I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.”

God is trustworthy: He will fulfill every one of His promises. He is faithful to His children.  He says He will bring us to know Him as our Lord, for He has called us by name.  We are His.  He is ours. He will stop at nothing to show us that we are His beloved.  He will pursue His children’s heart, leveling everything in the way. No mountain, no gate, no obstacle, no burden will come between the Lord and His child.  Trust Him to fulfill all of His promises, child of God.

Photo: Iceland

Isaiah 45:12  It is I who made the earth, and created man upon it. I stretched out the heavens with My hands And I ordained all their host.

Observe the splendor of God in His marvelous creation.  All of nature reflects His glory.  Every starry host is handcrafted by God.  Every river cascade is carved by God’s creative hands.  He opened His hands and revealed the heavens.  Our hearts respond with awe at the artistry of His hands. Nature calms us, nature reminds us, and nature inspires us to pray with delight to our Creator.  Creation is majestic because of our Creator.  We worship our beautifully artistic God reflected in the portrait of nature. 

Photo: Texas Hill Country

Isaiah 54:10   Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the LORD, who has compassion on you.

Amidst the chaos and confusion of life, the literal and figurative earthquakes of disaster, God’s love remains steady and unshaken.  He takes great compassion on His children. He has covenanted everlasting peace with His people.  Peace in chaos.  Peace in catastrophe.  Peace in all circumstances.  His peace cannot be removed.  God’s peace is an expression of His love poured out generously by His Spirit. Receive God’s love as if His love is the only lasting, peaceful, unconditional truth on which life depends…. for it is.  Accept His covenant of peace and watch peacefully as the mountains shake and the hills are removed… His love for you endures, His peace reigns.  

Photo: Yosemite National Park

You split the sea

So I could walk right through it

My fears were drowned in perfect love

You rescued me

And I could stand and sing

I am a child of a God

-Bethel Music, No Longer Slaves 

The hope of the cross is that God rescues you, His child,  from the calamity of sin, He resurrects your suffering, He overcomes your fears, and He protects you from the pit of despair.  He splits your seas of struggle so you can walk right through them with courage and not drown in fear.  He allows you to walk through the fiery furnace of worldly injustice and not be burned.  The cross is a reminder that Christ has defeated death and He will overcome all of our fears!  In His perfect love, He will rescue you. 

Isaiah 43:2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.

Photo: California 

 

Isaiah 61:1

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
    because the Lord has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
    to proclaim freedom for the captives
    and release from darkness for the prisoners,

The Lord’s sovereignty covers us.  Jesus’s anointing of his children brings good news.  His Word heals our brokenhearted lives.  He opens the way to freedom from the captivity of fear, rejection, and sadness.  He releases us from the dark imprisonment of our worldly, fearful minds. Cry out to Jesus for release from the darkness.  Believe He is the good news for the salvation and sanctification of your soul.  He is making you into a new creation, free and alive!  

Photo: Alcatraz

  

Isaiah 58:9-11 “If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing fingerand malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.

11 The Lord will guide you always;
    he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
    and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
    like a spring whose waters never fail.”

Who is our Guide? The Lord.  Who is sovereign over everything?  The Lord.  Seek Him.  Turn toward His light. Humbly ask Him to flood your heart with His love; you will be like a spring of love that never runs dry.  Your night will be illuminated by God’s light.  Your speech will be softened by His compassion.  Your frame will be strengthened by His provision.  You will become a waterfall of grace.  

Photo: Austin, TX

  

Isaiah 45:6  That people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the Lord, and there is no other.

God is God alone.  He is sovereign over all.  God is in control and our minds and heads need to catch up to believing that.  We try to wrestle control away from God when we demand answers, act entitled to certain outcomes, and need our desires met at every turn.  Meanwhile, God reminds us that HE IS LORD. All of creation testifies that He is the Creator and He is in control. His purposes for us will prevail.  Be at peace with His plans for the life He created for you to enjoy!  Rather than try to control everything, delight in His purposes and rejoice in His sovereignty! 

Photo: Churchill, Manitoba, Canada