Isaiah 40:28-31 -- Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
Every day we hear of news that is unfortunate. Whether it comes from a national news station, a local station, or from the mouth of friends and family. We are surrounded by difficulties, both the worlds and our own. We must push through these hardships with hope. Hope for a better tomorrow, hope for happiness, hope for grace, hope for this world to be a better place. Let us focus our hope in God above all others, for He is our eternal hope.
When we stop and think about the holiness of God, we can easily be frightened because of the sins we have committed. Think about it, He who judges us sinners has never sinned, and the furious wrath of God is coming for sin. He is without error; there is not one thing God has done that was wrong. God is so magnificent, He has no equal as we read in Isaiah 45:
I am the LORD, and there is no other;
apart from me there is no God.
I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged me, so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting people may know there is none besides me. I am the LORD, and there is no other. (Isaiah 45:5-6)
We are all sinners, no matter how hard we try to avoid sinning; it is inevitable that we do so. Now this is not to imply that we can go around sinning with no remorse because we a destined to sin anyway. We are to strive to walk a Christ-like journey, one with no sin, and in doing so we will limit the amount of sinful acts we commit. Only Jesus walked this journey without sin, leading a life for us to follow. It is important to keep our trust in Him, for when we begin to trust in ourselves, we start heading towards a valley filled with sin. So how are we Christian sinners to live our lives with happiness if we are set to face the wrath of God due to our sins? Let us rejoice that we have a merciful God! We see the unbelievable grace that God has been given to us in Isaiah 43.
Isaiah 43:24-25 -- But you have burdened me with your sins and wearied me with your offenses. “I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.
Our sins will be forgotten. My oh my what a glorious blessing that is! In Isaiah 43:25 God tells us that our sins will be removed. It is not that God forgets, He knows all… but we learn here that the God of the universe, He who knows your every sinful thought, every single sinful deed, for His namesake, He raises and says He will hold none of them against you. By the grace and mercy of God, He looks upon you and me and tells us that He has no record of anything sinful in our life. Now comes the question of all questions: how is this possible. How can God be infinitely Holy and say that He will not hold our sins against us? How can He be true and say that I am innocent? How is that God can be perfectly Holy and save me, a sinner, at the same time?
In the early part of the Book of Isaiah we read about the promises that a king will someday come, and towards the end we read about a servant who will come, both are said to be righteous in God. What we come to realize is that the servant and the king that are to come are the same person. The King is the Servant, and the Servant is the King. God sends His Son so that we can be saved from His fury towards sin. Now, God displays his remarkable planning to us in Isaiah 7:14. Here we read about Jesus’ birth, over six hundred years before it ever comes to pass. Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)
The hope for us is that we will turn from sin and trust in God. He is our omnipresent help. God deserves our entire heart. As if God was not already enough, He sent us His Son Jesus Christ so that we can be saved and know the love He has for us. He is our eternal hope.
Psalm 33:18 – But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear Him, on those whose hope is in His unfailing love
Psalm 37:9 – For those who are evil will be destroyed, but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.
Isaiah 51:5 – My righteousness draws near speedily, My salvation is on the way, and My arm will bring justice to the nations. The islands will look to Me and wait in hope for My arm.
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