103 He Is God! – Part 3

Isaiah 44:24 – 45:25 (45:15-19)

April 14, 2024

Recognizing the SUPREME AUTHORITY OF GOD

Is one of the clearest expectations of humanity throughout Scripture.

In fact, when the apostle Paul wants to point out the undeniable sinfulness of the worldly pagan, before listing any other sin, Paul says:

Romans 1:21 “For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.”

Paul spoke of a failure to honor God as God.

This is the calling of humanity.

How much more is it the calling of those whom He has redeemed!

We are aware of the calling to honor God and to treat Him as God.

And we have ways in which we are accustomed to do that:

For example:

Singing

Psalms 135:1-5 “Praise the Lord! Praise the name of the Lord; Praise Him, O servants of the Lord, You who stand in the house of the Lord, In the courts of the house of our God! Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good; Sing praises to His name, for it is lovely. For the Lord has chosen Jacob for Himself, Israel for His own possession. For I know that the Lord is great And that our Lord is above all gods.”

Giving

Malachi 1:10-11 “Oh that there were one among you who would shut the gates, that you might not uselessly kindle fire on My altar! I am not pleased with you,” says the Lord of hosts, “nor will I accept an offering from you. “For from the rising of the sun even to its setting, My name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense is going to be offered to My name, and a grain offering that is pure; for My name will be great among the nations,” says the Lord of hosts.

Or we think about obedience or faithfulness or holiness, etc.

Certainly in all those things we strive to honor God as God.

Here in Isaiah’s 44th and 45th chapters

We are confronted with another area in our life

Where we are called to honor God as God,

And this may be one of the most difficult areas.

We are talking about honoring God

When God does that which we do not understand,

Or perhaps even agree with.

So long as God does what you expect…

So long as He behaves in a manner that you agree with…

So long as God stays inside your box of acceptable action…

It is easy to give Him credit and glory and honor.

It is easy to worship Him and proclaim Him.

WHEN GOD OPERATES AS YOU EXPECT

But what about when God does something that you deem as wrong?

What about when God operates outside of your comfort zone?

What about when God allows Satan to have all your camels and donkeys stolen, your children killed, and you afflicted with sores from the top of your head to the soles of your feet? (Job)

Can you honor God as God then?

What about when God allows you to be the only prophet in the nation that you know of and allows for the evil queen to put a bounty on your head? (Elijah)

Can you honor God then?

What about when God allows your brothers to sell you, your boss’s wife to falsely accuse you, your jailor to ignore you, and your friends to forget you? (Joseph)

Can you honor God then?

Or, what about when God raises up a pagan ruler and grants for him to conquer the nations and then speaks about this pagan as His messiah or christ? (Cyrus)

Can you honor God as God then?

Well that last one is what was happening in this prophecy.

Isaiah 45:1 “Thus says the Lord to Cyrus His anointed, Whom I have taken by the right hand, To subdue nations before him And to loose the loins of kings; To open doors before him so that gates will not be shut:”

· God states that He has selected a deliverer.

· God has selected the man whom He will use as His savior.

· God calls this man “His anointed” which is the Hebrew word MESHEAH.

· And we find out that it is none other than the pagan Persian Cyrus.

AND IT ALL SEEMS WRONG.

And we were forced right up against the question:

DOES GOD HAVE THE RIGHT TO DO WHATEVER HE WANTS?

(of course He does)

IS GOD BOUND TO OPERATE IN A MANNER THAT SATISFIES YOUR EXPECTATIONS OF THE TYPE OF THINGS GOD SHOULD DO?

(of course He is not)

And this is the issue we are forced up against here in Isaiah 45.

· When nothing makes sense, can we trust God?

· When nothing goes as we expect, can we obey God?

· When God fails to give us an explanation, can we honor Him?

· When God operates outside of our comfort zone, can we be faithful?

If this life has not yet presented you

With circumstances beyond your control or understanding,

Then just give it a minute, because it will.

And when those circumstances arise

You immediately have a decision to make.

1. You will either attribute those circumstances to someone other than God.

2. Or you will attribute them to God and then get angry at Him.

3. Or you will attribute them to God and honor Him as God.

Only the last option is acceptable.

God is sovereign over all things,

Even the things we see as negative things,

And He deserves and demands to be honored in all of them.

Isaiah 45:6-7 “That men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun That there is no one besides Me. I am the Lord, and there is no other, The One forming light and creating darkness, Causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the Lord who does all these.”

And that is what we are dealing with here in the 45th chapter of Isaiah.

In this we have said that there are 4 points to be made here.

There are 4 things you need to know

That will help you honor God rightly

In the midst of peculiar circumstances.

#1 GOD’S MYSTERIOUS WAYS

Isaiah 44:24-45:8

Many a man has said it, “God works in mysterious ways”.

He does things that do not necessarily make sense to us.

· Why send Israel into Egypt just to bring them out?

· Why send them into Babylon just to deliver them later?

· Why use a pagan to do it?

· Why allow Job to be afflicted?

· Why allow Elijah to be persecuted?

· Why allow Jesus Christ to be handed over to evil men and crucified on a cross?

We must simply understand that God knows what He is doing

And does not feel the need to explain Himself to us.

We are simply called to know that

God may not always do that which you expect,

But you are still always called to honor Him as God.

We saw that Sunday morning.

Sunday night we saw the second thing we needed to know:

#2 GOD’S IMPORTANT WARNING

Isaiah 45:9-14

When you walk through circumstances that don’t make sense to you,

One of your first temptations will be

To QUESTION God or to ACCUSE Him of wrong-doing.

Both Job and Elijah did this.

Here God speaks through Isaiah as though to say, “On that day when you are tempted to grumble about Me…DON’T.”

(9) “Woe to the one who quarrels with his Maker— An earthenware vessel among the vessels of earth! Will the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you doing?’ Or the thing you are making say, ‘He has no hands’?”

Again we are reminded to know our place.

· The clay doesn’t get to argue with the potter.

· The dirt doesn’t get to grumble against the Creator.

It was made very clear to us that in the midst of confusing times

God is not asking us to understand, He is asking us to trust.

Psalms 46 “God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; Though its waters roar and foam, Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. Selah. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, The holy dwelling places of the Most High. God is in the midst of her, she will not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns. The nations made an uproar, the kingdoms tottered; He raised His voice, the earth melted. The Lord of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah. Come, behold the works of the Lord, Who has wrought desolations in the earth. He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two; He burns the chariots with fire. “Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” The Lord of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah.”

What a great reminder!

“Cease striving and know that I am God.”

· You don’t have to understand.

· You must not grumble.

· You cannot fix it.

· Just stop and recognize that God is God over this entire situation.

This will help you rest in uncertain times.

· It doesn’t make sense.

· It may never make sense this side of heaven.

· But you simply are called to trust that it makes sense to Him.

So if you can get those to points down, you’re going to be way ahead of the game when you are confronted with peculiar circumstances.

1. If you can remember that God often works in mysterious ways.

2. If you can remember that God is calling you not to grumble but to trust.

Then you are already a long way down the road

To honoring Him as God in the midst of your confusion.

This morning, let’s look at the 3rd point of Isaiah.

God’s Mysterious Ways

God’s Important Warning

#3 GOD’S REVEALED WORD

Isaiah 45:15-19

We actually touched on this point previously.

FOR EXAMPLE last Sunday night as we talked about how God was at work in a mysterious way in His selection of Cyrus,

We did note that even in the confusion

God made it clear what the end result would be.

That END result was spelled out in verse 8

(45:8) “Drip down, O heavens, from above, And let the clouds pour down righteousness; Let the earth open up and salvation bear fruit, And righteousness spring up with it. I, the Lord, have created it.”

Even though the current climate might be confusion,

God has never waivered on what the end result would be.

The end result is that it will all end in righteousness.

We saw it AGAIN in verses 13-14

(45:13-14) “I have aroused him in righteousness And I will make all his ways smooth; He will build My city and will let My exiles go free, Without any payment or reward,” says the Lord of hosts. Thus says the Lord, “The products of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush And the Sabeans, men of stature, Will come over to you and will be yours; They will walk behind you, they will come over in chains And will bow down to you; They will make supplication to you: ‘Surely, God is with you, and there is none else, No other God.’”

It may be peculiar that God would use an unholy and unworthy vessel,

But again notice where God says it is heading.

· It will result in the return and salvation of His people.

· It will result in the nations streaming to Israel.

· It will result in the global worship of Israel’s God.

We might not know how today fits into the plan,

But we do know where the plan is going.

GOD HAS REVEALED THAT.

And this is the 3rd point to be emphasized this morning.

When you go through troubling and confusing circumstances that cause you to question what in the world is happening…

In those moments look past the present and look to the promise.

Fix your eyes, not on what God might or might not be doing,

But rather fix your ears on what God has said He will do.

Look to God’s revealed word.

Let’s break these 5 verses down a little further this morning.

1) ISAIAH’S CONFESSION (15)

“Truly, You are a God who hides Himself, O God of Israel, Savior!”

I love this confession of Isaiah because it gives us comfort that

We are not the only ones who may not understand what God is doing.

Isaiah is the chosen mouth-piece to announce God’s plan

And here even he confesses that he doesn’t have a clue.

“You are a God who hides Himself”

You don’t always make Your plans or purposes known.

And how many of the righteous saints throughout Scripture would join in with Isaiah and say, “Amen!”

After the children of Israel built the golden calf and God declared that He would destroy them:

Moses asked:

Exodus 32:11 “Then Moses entreated the Lord his God, and said, “O Lord, why does Your anger burn against Your people whom You have brought out from the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand?”

Later when the people were weeping because they wanted meat:

Moses again asked:

Numbers 11:10-12 “Now Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families, each man at the doorway of his tent; and the anger of the Lord was kindled greatly, and Moses was displeased. So Moses said to the Lord, “Why have You been so hard on Your servant? And why have I not found favor in Your sight, that You have laid the burden of all this people on me? “Was it I who conceived all this people? Was it I who brought them forth, that You should say to me, ‘Carry them in your bosom as a nurse carries a nursing infant, to the land which You swore to their fathers’?”

When Joshua led the people into the Promised Land but they suffered a defeat at the hands of Ai:

Joshua asked:

Joshua 7:6-7 “Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the Lord until the evening, both he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust on their heads. Joshua said, “Alas, O Lord God, why did You ever bring this people over the Jordan, only to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? If only we had been willing to dwell beyond the Jordan!”

Job asked:

Job 7:20 “Have I sinned? What have I done to You, O watcher of men? Why have You set me as Your target, So that I am a burden to myself?

David asked:

Psalms 10:1 “Why do You stand afar off, O Lord? Why do You hide Yourself in times of trouble?”

Asaph:

Psalms 74:1 “O God, why have You rejected us forever? Why does Your anger smoke against the sheep of Your pasture?”

Jeremiah:

Jeremiah 12:1 “Righteous are You, O Lord, that I would plead my case with You; Indeed I would discuss matters of justice with You: Why has the way of the wicked prospered? Why are all those who deal in treachery at ease?”

Jeremiah 15:18 “Why has my pain been perpetual And my wound incurable, refusing to be healed? Will You indeed be to me like a deceptive stream With water that is unreliable?”

Habakkuk:

Habakkuk 1:3 “Why do You make me see iniquity, And cause me to look on wickedness? Yes, destruction and violence are before me; Strife exists and contention arises.”

The sisters of Lazarus:

John 11:21 “Martha then said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”

The disciples:

Mark 4:37-38 “And there arose a fierce gale of wind, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling up. Jesus Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”

I think you get the idea.

· It’s NOT a matter of being smart enough to discern what is going on…

· It’s NOT a matter of some men being more holy and just able to grasp the behavior of God…

It is a matter that God “hides Himself”.

He doesn’t always give all the info and as God He is not obligated too.

If you admit that you also don’t understand what God is doing,

That puts you in good company.

ISAIAH has now come to that conclusion as well.

Moses taught us this early on:

Deuteronomy 29:29 “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law.”

There are things you’re meant to know

And things you’re not meant to know.

God isn’t obligated or motivated to tell you everything.

Here Isaiah consents to that.

2) ISAIAH’S CONVICTION (16-17)

“They will be put to shame and even humiliated, all of them; The manufacturers of idols will go away together in humiliation. Israel has been saved by the Lord With an everlasting salvation; You will not be put to shame or humiliated To all eternity.”

After confessing that God is doing things which he does not understand,

ISAIAH DOES REVEAL WHAT HE IS CONVINCED OF.

He doesn’t know what God is doing, but he does seem to know this.

1. At the end of the day, every false god will be proven false.

2. At the end of the day, every idolator will be covered in shame.

3. At the end of the day, Israel will be saved and her salvation will never fail.

THIS IS ISAIAH’S CONVICTION.

NOW FIRST I JUST WANT YOU TO SEE THAT.

Isaiah believes that the only people who will end up being saved

Are the people who trust in God.

AND Isaiah believes that their salvation is secure.

“Israel has been saved by the LORD with an everlasting salvation;”

That is a great statement.

But before we unpack the full reality of what that means…

We have to ask HOW DOES ISAIAH KNOW THAT?

· If God works in mysterious ways…

· If God indeed is One who hides Himself…

· Then how could Isaiah possibly know what God will or won’t do in regard to Israel?

· If God is consistently at work in ways we don’t understand,

· If God is not compelled to always tell us what He is doing,

· Then how can we be convinced of anything?

How can you know God will save Israel?

How can you know that salvation is everlasting?

You just finished telling us that God doesn’t tell you everything,

And then you jump into this definitive statement

Of Israel’s guaranteed and eternal salvation.

HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT?

3) ISAIAH’S CONFIDENCE (18-19)

“For thus says the Lord, who created the heavens (He is the God who formed the earth and made it, He established it and did not create it a waste place, but formed it to be inhabited), “I am the Lord, and there is none else. “I have not spoken in secret, In some dark land; I did not say to the offspring of Jacob, ‘Seek Me in a waste place’; I, the Lord, speak righteousness, Declaring things that are upright.”

Isaiah wastes no time explaining to you

· Why he may be uncertain about what God is currently doing,

· But is totally convinced that it will end up with the eternal salvation of Israel.

Why is he so confident?

“For thus says the LORD…”

God hasn’t told Isaiah everything,

But what God has told him can be counted on with 100% certainty.

Isaiah first reminds that God is the Creator of all things.

But in that he also reminds you

Something of the heart of God as revealed in creation.

“He established it and did not create it a waste place, but formed it to be inhabited.”

THAT IS INTERESTING.

You may remember what we studied in Genesis.

Genesis 1:1-2 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.”

· Moses taught us that “the earth was formless and void”

· The Hebrew words are TOHU “formless” and BOHU “void”

But God did not leave it like that, though He could have.

· Instead God shaped into a world to be inhabited.

· And then God created man with Him He might fellowship and placed Him on it.

Isaiah knows that God desires fellowship with humanity.

Creation alone proves that.

AND ISAIAH KNOWS THAT

Regardless of what God does on this earth,

God will have fellowship with those whom He has chosen to redeem.

How does Isaiah know that?

“I am the LORD, and there is none else. I have not spoken in secret, in some dark land; I did not say to the offspring of Jacob, ‘Seek Me in a waste place’; I, the LORD, speak righteousness, Declaring things that are upright.”

IN OTHER WORDS:

God may not have told us everything, but what He did tell us, He was crystal clear about.

“I have not spoken in secret…”

· God did not say “Seek Me in a waste place”

· That is a little misleading, it can also be translated, “SEEK ME IN VAIN”

THAT IS TO SAY, when God chose to reveal Himself or His plan

HE DID JUST THAT.

When God told us to seek Him, He promised that He was findable.

“I, the LORD speak righteousness, Declaring things that are upright.”

THAT IS TO SAY, “When I speak, I make it known.”

GOD DOESN’T STUTTER.

He doesn’t tell us everything,

But what He does tell us comes to us in clarity and truth.

Deuteronomy 29:29 “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law.”

AND THIS IS WHY, even though Isaiah doesn’t know everything God is doing, he does know God is saving Israel.

WHY?

BECAUSE GOD HAS SAID SO.

Isaiah 40:10-11 “Behold, the Lord God will come with might, With His arm ruling for Him. Behold, His reward is with Him And His recompense before Him. Like a shepherd He will tend His flock, In His arm He will gather the lambs And carry them in His bosom; He will gently lead the nursing ewes.”

Isaiah 41:8-14 “But you, Israel, My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, Descendant of Abraham My friend, You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, And called from its remotest parts And said to you, ‘You are My servant, I have chosen you and not rejected you. ‘Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’ “Behold, all those who are angered at you will be shamed and dishonored; Those who contend with you will be as nothing and will perish. “You will seek those who quarrel with you, but will not find them, Those who war with you will be as nothing and non-existent. “For I am the Lord your God, who upholds your right hand, Who says to you, ‘Do not fear, I will help you.’ “Do not fear, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel; I will help you,” declares the Lord, “and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.”

Isaiah 43:1-7 “But now, thus says the Lord, your Creator, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel, “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine! “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, Nor will the flame burn you. “For I am the Lord your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I have given Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in your place. “Since you are precious in My sight, Since you are honored and I love you, I will give other men in your place and other peoples in exchange for your life. “Do not fear, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, And gather you from the west. “I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ And to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’ Bring My sons from afar And My daughters from the ends of the earth, Everyone who is called by My name, And whom I have created for My glory, Whom I have formed, even whom I have made.”

Isaiah 44:1-5 “But now listen, O Jacob, My servant, And Israel, whom I have chosen: Thus says the Lord who made you And formed you from the womb, who will help you, ‘Do not fear, O Jacob My servant; And you Jeshurun whom I have chosen. ‘For I will pour out water on the thirsty land And streams on the dry ground; I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring And My blessing on your descendants; And they will spring up among the grass Like poplars by streams of water.’ “This one will say, ‘I am the Lord’s’; And that one will call on the name of Jacob; And another will write on his hand, ‘Belonging to the Lord,’ And will name Israel’s name with honor.”

HE HAS MADE IT CLEAR HASN’T HE?

That is why Isaiah knows (17) “Israel has been saved by the LORD with an everlasting salvation; You will not be put to shame or humiliated to all eternity.”

And what a COMFORT and REMINDER this is to God’s people.

I will agree, it is hard to understand why God would use a Cyrus.

· It is hard to understand God’s purposes in such things.

· It is hard to understand why God would allow Joe Biden to be president.

· It is hard to understand why neither option is very morally or spiritually appealing.

· It is hard to understand why persecution and hardship and suffering and all other calamities occur on the earth.

· It is hard to explain tragedy and loss and the unbridled rise of immorality and depravity in our land.

· It is hard to understand our own suffering and hardships and why it feels like God isn’t doing anything to fix it.

This life is full of confusing and mysterious things God is doing.

And sometimes it seems like the more we want answers

The more He hides Himself from us.

HE’S JUST NOT INTENT on explaining everything to us.

BUT WHAT HE HAS EXPLAINED…

· What He has made crystal clear…

· What we can hold our hat on every single day…

Is that God is saving His people and saving them forever.

Romans 8:28-32 “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?”

We don’t know everything, but we do know that

Because God has revealed that in His word.

· We don’t have to wonder if God is still saving us.

· We don’t have to wonder if God will save us forever.

John 5:24 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.”

John 6:38-40 “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. “This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”

John 10:27-29 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. “My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.”

We know the plan, He made it clear.

We know why salvation is secure.

Romans 5:8-10 “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.”

That speaks to the power of Christ’s resurrected life.

Well what is Christ doing in His resurrected life that will effect the security of our salvation?

Hebrews 7:23-25 “The former priests, on the one hand, existed in greater numbers because they were prevented by death from continuing, but Jesus, on the other hand, because He continues forever, holds His priesthood permanently. Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.”

Romans 8:34 “who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.”

God is saving us and saving us forever.

Christ is interceding for us to save us forever.

We have been saved.

We are being saved.

We will be saved.

We don’t know everything, but we do know that.

Paul was in the Mamertine prison awaiting execution and he wrote:

2 Timothy 4:18 “The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”

The Thessalonians were paranoid about the coming persecution and day of the Lord and Paul reminded:

1 Thessalonians 5:9-11 “For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him. Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.”

I HOPE YOU GET THE POINT.

In this life you are going to face a lot of circumstances

That you may not understand.

AND IN THOSE MOMENTS

You are simply going to have to submit to the fact that God is God and you are not.

· Sometimes He works in ways that we cannot comprehend.

· And you are going to have to resign yourself to honoring Him as God

regardless of your confusion.

· You will have to resist the temptation to question Him or argue with Him are

grumble about what He is doing,

· And instead choose to trust His sovereign power and His goodness.

But it is not as though God has left us totally in the dark.

WE DO KNOW THE END

Revelation 21:1-7 “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.” Then He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. “He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son.”

We may not recognize the road God is taking

But we do know the destination.

And in those times of chaos and confusion hang your hat on that.

Set your gaze upon His promises.

When Martha was confused because Jesus was late, He said:

John 11:40 “Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”

When the disciples were grieved because Jesus was leaving:

John 14:1-3 “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.

Even those men on the road to Emaus who were defeated because Jesus was dead.

Luke 24:25 “And He said to them, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!”

CLING TO WHAT GOD HAS REVEALED

Romans 15:4 “For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”

Don’t focus on what you don’t understand, focus on what you do.

That God has promised that all those who believe in Jesus Christ

Are being saved and they are being saved forever.

I DON’T KNOW HOW

· Biden or Trump

· COVID

· Inflation

· Iran bombing Israel

· any other thing

Fits into the eternal plan of God,

But I do know the eternal plan of God is to save me and save me forever.

THAT HE IS SPECIFICALLY PROMISED

Rest in that church!