I, even I, am the Lord, and apart from me there is no savior. I have revealed and saved and proclaimed— I, and not some foreign god among you. You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “that I am God.
There is no God beside the Lord of all Heaven and Earth. During the time of Isaiah there were many nations that surrounded Israel that worshipped many false gods. Sadly, Israel would often abandon the worship of the one true God for these false gods. But God begins here with a firm statement about His sovereignty over all things. Because God is firmly in control, everything that God says will come to pass. Nothing is able to oppose the word of God. If God says it, it will not return void. But the difficult thing for us is trusting God at His word.
It is God who saved Israel throughout its history. It is God who created Israel. It is God who provided for every need of Israel. Even when Israel abandoned the Lord and turned their back on Him, the Lord never abandoned nor forsook Israel. He disciplined them and chastised them, but it was always for a reason and a purpose. When we rebel against the Lord for any reason, the Lord will begin by gently trying to get our attention, but the discipline of the Lord becomes progressive and the more we continue in rebellion and sin, the harsher that discipline becomes. The point of it all is to always bring us back into intimate fellowship and relationship with the Lord. God understands the destructiveness of sin, and this is why if we continue in it, the Lord will discipline us.
The Lord here claims beyond a shadow of a doubt that He is sovereign and He is the only true God. God shows the foolishness of trusting in false gods all throughout the book of Isaiah. The Lord calls us on a daily basis to trust Him. He backs up everything He has given to us through His word. God accomplishes His purposes by His power and His might. Israel as a nation was God's witnesses. We today who are in Christ are the witnesses to what Jesus Christ has done in us.
We are surrounded by those who have no relationship with Jesus Christ. Every day we have opportunity to live for Christ and to share the gospel when the Lord opens the door and leads us to speak His truth. But everything we will accomplish on the earth is birthed out of our personal relationship with Him. We must trust the Lord at all times and know that He is fully in control. God is faithful to His word. He is our Lord and Savior. No matter what we face today, the Lord will bring to pass that which He has promised in His time.
Prayer
Father I come before you and ask you to lead, guide, and direct me. I pray that you would help me to trust you each step of the way. When discouragement and doubt try to fill my heart I pray that you would strengthen me and enable me to trust you and follow you. Help me to let go of all my doubts and fears in the name of Jesus, Amen!
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