Grace Lutheran Church Weekly Devotion - Isaiah 45:1–7
Isaiah 45:1–7
Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him and to loose the belts of kings, to open doors before him that gates may not be closed: 2“I will go before you and level the exalted places, I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut through the bars of iron, 3I will give you the treasures of darkness and the hoards in secret places, that you may know that it is I, the Lord, the God of Israel, who call you by your name. 4For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my chosen, I call you by your name, I name you, though you do not know me. 5I am the Lord, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I equip you, though you do not know me, 6that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the Lord, and there is no other. 7I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the Lord, who does all these things.”
When the forces of evil become evident in the world, we are tempted to fear the future. Giving in to such a temptation is a failure to trust God. Jesus asks, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” (Mt. 8:26). Believing God only rules over spiritual things, and not world events, means our faith is too small. In our text God promises He will intervene in world history. As sinners we are prone to forget the promises our Lord made to us. When things go wrong, we are tempted to think God has forgotten us or turned away from us. The Lord brings things into our lives to show us that He is our only source of refuge. When everything in this life fails us - family, friends, money, country, and in the end our health - then we have nothing to cling to but the Lord. He is the one who promises to deliver us.
When all our help is taken away, family, friends, money, and in the end our health, we can no longer fool ourselves into thinking we saved ourselves by our own effort. Sometimes we need to have everything removed to see our Savior comes to us in our weakness to make us strong. It is ironic really: When the Lord appears in His power and might, the earth shakes, there is thunder and lightning, wind and floods, enemies breaking down bronze and iron gates. But when the Lord comes in weakness, it is to save you. Jesus, the eternal Son of God, left all the glory of heaven to be born “in the likeness of sinful flesh” (Rm. 8:3) of a virgin in a lowly manger. In the flesh Jesus experienced hunger, thirst, weariness, and pain. You cannot get much weaker than being nailed to a cross. When we are at our weakest moments, in our greatest weakness, our sin, Jesus forgives you. When we are powerless against whatever is happening around us, then we can see that Jesus is the Lord and there is no other.
In this life we will face trials. When the cross comes into our life, when God is crucifying our sinful flesh through trials and sufferings in this world, He is stripping us bare of the things that are blocking our eyes from seeing Him as our Savior. We may wonder “Where is God?” Just remember He is removing anything that stops us from clinging to Him as our Lord.
In your weakness, the Lord called you by name. In the weakness of the sprinkling of water, the Lord saved you in Baptism. Though you are weak in the eyes of the world, He has chosen to make you strong in His promise through His Son “whom He raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come” (1 Thes. 1:10b). That is why God says, “I am the Lord, who does all these things” (7), “I am the Lord, your God, who saves you.” Truly there is no other god like Him: Amen.
“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; He will surely do it”: Amen. (1 Thes. 5:23-24).
825 North 1st West
Cheyenne Wells, CO, 80810-0728
Sunday Service begins at 9:00AM
