Isaiah 40:12-17
Who has
measured the waters in the hollow of his hand
and marked off the heavens
with a span,
enclosed the dust of
the earth in a measure
and weighed the
mountains in scales
and the hills in a
balance?
Who
has measured the Spirit of the Lord,
or what man shows him
his counsel?
Whom
did he consult,
and who made him
understand?
Who taught him the
path of justice,
and taught him
knowledge,
and showed him the way
of understanding?
Behold,
the nations are like a drop from a bucket,
and are accounted as
the dust on the scales;
behold, he takes up the
coastlands like fine dust.
Lebanon would not suffice for fuel,
nor are its
beasts enough for a burnt offering.
All
the nations are as nothing before him,
they are accounted by
him as less than nothing and emptiness.
When you read that section of
verses what goes through your mind? When I read that the other day I was blown
away, crushed, and in awe. If the nations are like a single drop in a bucket to
Him, if His hand holds All of the waters that are in the world and he can
measure the galaxies with the breadth of his hand, who are we? Our lives, our
plans, from the lowest servant in India to the most powerful leader
in the United Nations, are nothing. That blew me away and crushed me as I
realized in awe how infinitely majestic, powerful, and knowledgeable our God is.
Then several verses down I read....
Isaiah 40:27-31
Why do
you say, O Jacob,
and speak, O Israel
“My way is hidden from
the Lord,
and my right is
disregarded by my God”?
Have
you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the
everlasting God,
the Creator of the
ends of the earth.
He does not faint or
grow weary;
his understanding is
unsearchable.
He
gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might
he increases strength.
Even
youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall
fall exhausted;
but they
who wait for the Lord shall renew their
strength;
they shall mount up
with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not
be weary;
they shall walk and
not faint.
Isaiah is including both
kingdoms, the kingdom of Israel and Judah. (If you didn't know the kingdoms of Israel and Judah were the people of Israel, God's chosen people, before they decided to split into two kingdoms, still God's chosen people but now separated.) Isaiah is including all of God's
people in this section of verses as he reprimands before encouraging them. From time to time God's people need to remember who they are serving. While we can't entirely understand who God is when we realize who we are in comparison it creates a humble attitude as we serve both Him and each other.
After reading the above set of verses this chapter was So much more powerful
because my eyes were opened to the reality of who we are and the God we
serve. We don't just serve Him the way a slave does without receiving anything in return, He
offers us strength, refuge, peace, joy, patience, and most importantly
everlasting love. When you realize this it encourages you to push on, trusting
God that no matter what happens, what you're struggling with the one described
in verses 12-17 is the same one in verses 27-31 who offers strength and
understands all that we go through.
We, the incredibly small are loved by the infinitely majestic.
