DO YOU NOT KNOW? HAVE YOU NOT HEARD? (PART 1)

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Why do you complain, Jacob? Why do you say, Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord; my cause is disregarded by my God”?

Do you not know? Have you not heard?

The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.

Isaiah 40:27-28

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Today is the first of a four part series from one of my favorite passages in the Bible, one that has been passed on through the ages, from one to another, to offer encouragement during times of challenge.

And face it, life is full of challenge, isn’t it?

This is why it’s absolutely crucial that we do not consume these words quickly but rather savor them in smaller bites. Through breaking this passage down into parts, I pray the Lord will speak to our hearts and grant us wisdom and assurance, no matter what we might be presently going through.

So why is the title of the series, “Do you not know? Have you not heard?”

Because we have a real tendency to know these words but not put them into practice, much like we do other critical words of guidance and assurance from the Bible.

In other words, I think sometimes the Lord is saying these very words to us when we turn to Him in the midst of our circumstances. “Do you not know that I have already given you clear direction in My holy word regarding the matter you’re bringing to Me? Have you not heard that My word is truth and provides you all the instruction and wisdom you need to make it through life?”

Sometimes, we need a reminder and as we will see in the word of God today and in the three days following, the Lord is ready to jog our memory as to who He is and what He can do for us.

Let’s look at today’s verses from Isaiah, Chapter 40:

Why do you complain, Jacob? Why do you say, Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord; my cause is disregarded by my God”?

Do you not know? Have you not heard?

The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. vv. 27-28

You see the problem here, don’t you?

The people of Israel feel as if they are detached from God. They think their ways are hidden from Him; their cause disregarded. In other words, they think God has stopped caring about them or, worse yet, absent and disinterested. Possibly, they have lifted up prayers to God and after not receiving what they expected, they simply draw the assumption that God is simply not invested in them or concerned for them anymore. Sometimes, it’s easier to be impatient and write God off than it is to keep faith and wait for Him to move in the matter you’re going through. I suspect this was the case with the people of Israel.

Frankly, we’re not much different than they are more than 2,000 years later. Maybe we’re worse today because we have created a society where we expect everything to come right away. We want our food fast and so we go through a drive through or give business to any number of “grab and go” places. We find ourselves shopping in convenience stores because we can go in, get what we want, and leave quickly. When we need money, no need to go to a bank anymore because we can stop at an Automated Teller Machine (or better known as an ATM) and get fast cash to spend. And if we don’t have cash, no problem because now we can just swipe a credit and debit card to check out fast and be on our way.

You get the point. We’re getting less and less inclined to patiently wait for something and that includes for God to work in our circumstances and that’s bad because sometimes we have to wait and wait for significant periods of time before the Lord moves. Even in those circumstances, we cannot afford to lose faith or hope. We have to hold onto the promises God has granted us and going back to where we started, those promises are found in His holy word.

One of those assurances is at the center of what God wants us to remember today. For He wants us to hear and know this:

The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.

Friends, we serve a Lord who is far from silent and never inactive. He has been that way since the dawn of creation, a creation that He produced as described in Genesis 1, and He will always be that way. He isn’t just ever present but He is also omnipresent which means that He is not only everlasting but everywhere. Indeed, the Lord existence has no end as He is infinite and everlasting in life.

Do you not know this? Have you not heard?

We serve a Lord who can do all things. Read a little about Him in the scriptures and you will learn that there is nothing beyond the works of His almighty hands. Nothing. This isn’t some new happening. He’s been doing it for as long as there has been a creation and He will always be the only true “go-to” person when we have a need. No mere human can do what the Lord can do.

Today, the Lord wants us to leave reading this devotion with a renewed knowledge that He is with us and always will be. He wants us to listen and hear Him when He assures us that He, and He alone, can do all things and no problem we go through is too big for Him to handle.

Will you recommit yourself to trust Him? Will you approach the Lord with a renewed patience, trusting He is working things out for good, no matter how long you need to wait for that to happen? Will you believe that the Lord who made you is everlasting and through His Son Jesus, He longs for you to live eternally with Him?

I pray that your answer to all those questions will simply be “yes”. Believe me when I say you will never find anyone who cares for you like your Heavenly Father, the Lord God Almighty.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

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