Category: Isaiah

Oh, that you would burst from the heavens and come down!
How the mountains would quake in your presence!
As fire causes wood to burn
and water to boil,
your coming would make the nations tremble.
Then your enemies would learn the reason for your fame!
–Isaiah 64:1-2

Most of us (including the people of the Bible) have questioned God’s ways. There are times when He seems silent, uninterested, and detached from His creation (and even His children). Sometimes we just don’t understand Him.

Isaiah was struggling with this as he saw what was happening to God’s people. He realized that they deserved judgment, yet He wanted a different form of divine intervention. Why can’t God just come down and give everyone a good scolding (complete with mountain-moving earthquakes)? Can’t He do an encore of the Red Sea, manna from Heaven, or the walls of Jericho?* Surely that would teach everyone a lesson!

I wish I could tell you that this issue goes away with spiritual growth. It doesn’t. I have been a Christian for over twenty years, and I still don’t always understand God. Hopefully my faith and understanding have increased, but my ways are still not always His ways.

You may wonder why God allows evil people to prosper. You may wonder why people starve to death. I have my own questions: Why won’t God send revival to my campus? Why won’t He just do something to “shake things up” and capture everyone’s attention?

“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord.
“And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.
For just as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so my ways are higher than your ways
and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.
–Isaiah 55:8-9

The answer is easy to hear, but not quite as easy to accept: He’s God; I’m not. His ways are not my ways.

God doesn’t require that we always understand Him. He simply asks us to trust Him, even when we don’t understand.

*For those of you who are not as familiar with the Bible, these miracles are recorded in the book of Exodus and Joshua.

Yet Jerusalem says, “The Lord has deserted us; the Lord has forgotten us.”

“Never! Can a mother forget her nursing child?
Can she feel no love for the child she has borne?
But even if that were possible, I would not forget you!
See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands. . .
–Isaiah 49:14-16

Our congregation has been blessed with a few “little” additions over the past couple of months. Sharon and Reuel (pictured here) were blessed with their first child a few weeks ago. Joel and Eden had their second child a little over a week ago. I was able to visit them in the hospital a few days after the birth.

There’s a special bond that forms between parents and a newborn child—this extraordinary relationship is easily observed. Parents will simply stare at the new edition to the family. This is especially true with the mother, who felt the child develop inside her own body. This love is one of the purest forms of love and devotion in the world.

Babies require constant care and attention, and that is exactly what they receive. Ask a new parent how their baby is doing. You can get a complete report on feeding habits, sleeping schedule, and even bowel movements. Every detail is carefully monitored during those first months of life.

Could new parents ever forget their baby? This ridiculous question is one of many that God asks through Isaiah. As we’ve seen before, such questions are given to demonstrate a spiritual truth.

Remember that much is written in Isaiah about God’s judgment on His people. God’s people disobeyed Him and suffered the consequences. Because of God’s judgment, they thought He had forgotten or forsaken them. “Never!” God responded.

God cannot forget His children, just as earthly parents cannot forget theirs. Remember that God’s love is even more pure and intense than the mother-child bond.

Most of us have been angry with God at some point in our lives. During these times, we may feel as though He has forgotten us. It is easy to think this way when we are suffering, even when the suffering is our own fault (this was the case with Israel).

No matter what we are experiencing, we can be sure that God has not forgotten us! If you are a true follower of Jesus Christ, you are engraved on the palms of His hands (this verse takes special meaning when we consider the cross). You are the object of His attention, just like a newborn baby is the object of the parents’ attention. He will not forget you—ever.