Category: Isaiah

I have a plan for the whole earth,
a hand of judgment upon all the nations.
The Lord of Heaven’s Armies has spoken—
who can change his plans?
When his hand is raised,
who can stop him?
-Isaiah 14:26-27

The picture posted here is a tragic example of a train/auto accident. According to the news article, the truck was pushed for almost have a mile before finally falling off the tracks. Both people in the truck were killed instantly. A car or truck of any size is simply no match for a train. Once a train gets going, you had better get out of its way.

God made a similar warning through Isaiah. He made some astounding predictions of judgment to the mightiest nations of the world. I’m sure it was hard to believe that such powerful armies could be defeated. God’s response was something like this: “my will is like a freight train—once I start my plan, nothing will stop it.”

Planning against God is even more foolish than stopping your car on railroad tracks. As foolish as this is, we are sometimes guilty of doing it. Here are some examples of how we put ourselves in danger:

*God warns us of the consequences of sin, but we continue to sin anyway.

*God calls us to respond immediately, but we say “I’ll respond to God some other time when I’m ready.”

*God calls us to do something, but we ignore His call and to things our way.

God graciously invites us to join His plan of redemption for the world. You can choose to join Him or you can ignore Him and make a “train wreck” of your life. His plan will happen with or without you. The choice is yours.

But can the ax boast greater power than the person who uses it?
Is the saw greater than the person who saws?
Can a rod strike unless a hand moves it?
Can a wooden cane walk by itself?
–Isaiah 10:15

My father’s basement is full of tools. Some, like the hammer, are very simple and can be used for multiple tasks. Others are quite complex, designed for a highly specialized purpose. One thing is for sure—I’ve never heard any of these tools boast about the work they have done. No hammer has ever bragged about the number of nails it has driven into their mark. No saw has ever boasted of the precision cut it made. The idea, of course, is absurd.

God uses the above analogy to warn Assyria (an ancient nation) of their arrogance. All of their military conquests, He warned, happened only because He had allowed it.

Hopefully none of us have ever been guilty of the Assyrian’s arrogance. Regardless, we can be guilty of taking credit when only God Himself deserves the glory for “our” accomplishments.

Consider your gifts, talents and accomplishments. Do they really belong to you? Who blessed you with your abilities? I think you know the answer.

No matter how simple or exquisite, a tool is worthless in and of itself. In much the same way, we are simply tools in the Master’s hands. We have nothing that God has not given to us. Let’s be careful to give God the glory for all of our accomplishments, no matter how great or small.