A voice says, “Cry!”
And I said, “What shall I cry?”
All flesh is grass,
and all its beauty is like the flower of the field.
The grass withers, the flower fades
when the breath of the Lord blows on it;
surely the people are grass.
The grass withers, the flower fades,
but the word of our God will stand forever. – Isaiah 40:6-8
Life is a mixed box of chocolates—“we never know what we’ll get” (to quote Forest Gump). Sometimes life is sweet, and sometimes it’s filled with the disappointing orange cream filling. Life is hard. Seasons of hard can feel relentless and ongoing. Through the years, hard seasons have found me choking feeble prayers up to God. I know God is good, I know God is strong, I know God never forsakes us. So I cry to Him. Yet there is something intrinsic in pain that’s incredibly deceiving. Unanswered prayers incased in hard seasons cause me to doubt God sees or hears. These desert seasons cause me to question if God regards me at all.
With hard seasons come hard questions. Within the text of Isaiah 40 I find I’m not alone. Isaiah 40 opens with the word “comfort.” Prior to Isaiah 40, the message of disaster had been given to the nation of Judah for their unfaithfulness and idol-laden worship practices. Isaiah’s word of comfort is prophetic, in that it would not occur for approximately 150 years after God’s people had been carried off into Babylonian exile and delivered from it. They would be a crushed people, deeply needing reminded of God’s sure and steadfast Word. In that long season of Babylonian exile, God’s people would be tempted to believe God had disregarded them (v. 40:27). God’s answer to it all—His word stands forever.
This week, as I studied this passage along with ladies at our church, we were encouraged through Kathleen Nielson’s study to consider the question, “how do these three verses light up your life right now, on this particular day, as you study the Scriptures?” On this particular day, I was three days into solo-parenting while my husband was away on business for the week. Our three-year-old, earlier in the year, underwent major reconstructive surgery on his hip due to hip dysplasia, and while physically he is well on the mend, emotionally he is a mess. On this day of study, I had endured a full day of reactive tantrums and meltdowns. I was physically, spiritually, and emotionally spent. On this particular day, these three verses floored me. The reminder of God’s power to deliver, that He is sovereign, eternal, and unfading, that God’s Word stands forever, awed me. His Word is sure! A lot in life may feel uncertain, but there is nothing uncertain about the Word of God.
I keenly felt my weakness. After a day of navigating hard emotions with a three-year old little man, my human flesh was withering. God’s Word reminded me of His presence, His steadfast love for me, His sovereignty and omniscience. God’s arm would be the one to strengthen me—even if circumstances were unmoved (v. 40:9). Alec Motyer writes that, “The Lord’s arm is a symbol of personal strength in action.”
Personal strength in action—this thought drips hope into my wanting soul. What we are to see in this beautiful passage of comfort is that God draws close to heart. It is an intimate, loving and responsive care imparted to us who are deeply in need of God’s abundance and grace.
Life crumbles. It’s often filled with more orange cream than pure, sweet chocolate. Yet God’s Word is forever. God’s Word keeps us and directs our downward gaze to look upward at our good and faithful God. Circumstances may attempt to persuade us God is absent, but God’s Word assures us He is present—very present. God’s Word is sure footing we can trust, even when the ground shakes beneath us. The LORD is the Holy One, our Redeemer—the one who deals justly with us and does not grow faint or weary. On this day, and I pray every day, I would be ever so mindful of this. God is not just God—He is my God. Thank you Jesus.
