Isaiah 40

“Jacob, why do you say, and Israel why do you assert: ‘My ways are hidden from the Lord and my claim is ignored by my God?’  Do you not know? Have you not heard? YHWH is the everlasting God, the Creator of the whole earth. He never grows faint or weary; there is no limit to His understanding. He gives strength to the weary and strengthens the powerless. Youths may faint and grow weary, and young men may stumble and fall, but those who trust in the Lord will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:27-31 (HCSB)

Wrong thoughts of God twist our perspective on life. Everything can get bent out of shape and do great harm to the Lord’s cause. In today’s chapter, Isaiah sought to lift our eyes toward heaven and behold God in all His glory. If things are not working out as we would like, it is precisely because life is not all about what we want. Life is about what God intends for us. Waiting on God – His ways, His thoughts, His timing – is the key to spiritual growth and maturity.

Let’s be honest. Have you ever felt that God does not care about you? Trials can make us lose sight of God’s majesty and cause us to feel sorry for ourselves. Some of the people in Isaiah’s time could not reckon God’s timing with His love. They felt that if God loved them, there should be no problems in their lives.

Coping with spiritual depression can be difficult. Almost all of Israel was in the doldrums during Isaiah’s day. The people complained, “God either does not know what we are passing through; or He does not care.”  In times such as these, it is important that we recognize certain realities of God: He is Omnipotent, Omnipresent, Omniscient, and His Character never changes.

The problem with Israel’s theology was that they sought religion for what God could do for them and not the other way around. As long as we feel God exists for our pleasure, we will probably be disappointed. But the reason we exist is for God’s pleasure. If we have a proper understanding of mankind’s relationship to God, we will understand that God receives pleasure when we faithfully worship Him through difficult times, as well as easier ones.

The way God dealt with depressed believers in Isaiah’s day was to talk about eagles! It is as if He was saying, “You may feel like a bedraggled sparrow, but if you pay attention to what I’m saying, you will mount up with wings like eagles.”  We must remain faithful and wait patiently upon the Lord. If rebuke is necessary, we must accept it. If trials come our way, we must endure them, waiting on God to fulfill His gracious promises.