Friday Reading: Isaiah 51:9-13
Key Verse: Isaiah 51:12
12 I, I, am He who comforts you. Who are you, that you should fear a man? He shall die. Or from the son of man? He shall be made as grass.
Devotion:
Right from the beginning God has been trying to teach us that if we trust in Him, He will protect us from our oppressors or our enemies. This does not mean that we can trust God to do our bidding or our work but rather that we are safe in His arms. If we struggle and shake ourselves free from His arms then we no longer have that same protection as when we are resting in His arms.
Isaiah’s words here are words from God reminding us that we do need God’s protection and that there is nothing better! We like to think that we are safe when we put our seatbelts on in our cars, or when we are at home; but truth be told we are still open to all manner of dangers that surround us. It may be someone else who crashes into you or it may be an accident in your own home that catches you off guard... but our God will never be caught off guard! That is why we need to put on His protection!
He has shown us His awesome power from the beginning as He worked with us and for us. Why should we even doubt that He will not continue to work with us when we trust in Him? He is the one that also has the power to destroy us. Man has the power to make us miserable and uncomfortable and even to kill our earthly bodies, but he can never remove God from us or us from God! We get upset with people who do not give us what we desire; but how often do we thank our God for all the things that He gives us that we actually need? Resting in God does not just mean sitting back and enjoying the comforter, it means being safe and secure from everything that would stop us from doing His work.
Points to Ponder:
Where do you feel safest?
Do you realise how safe God’s hands are?
