God’s Glory, Our Sufficiency!

“Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand or marked off the heavens with the span of his hand? Who has gathered the dust of the earth in a measure or weighed the mountains on a balance and the hills on the scales? Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord, or who gave him counsel? Who did he consult? Who gave him understanding and taught him the paths of justice? Who taught him knowledge and showed him the way of understanding? Look, the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are considered as a speck of dust on the scales; he lifts up the islands like fine dust. Lebanon’s cedars are not enough for fuel, or its animals enough for a burnt offering. All the nations are as nothing before him; they are considered by him as empty nothingness. With whom will you compare God? What likeness will you set up for comparison with him? An idol? — something that a smelter casts and a metalworker plates with gold and makes silver chains for? A poor person contributes wood for a pedestal that will not rot. He looks for a skilled craftsman to set up an idol that will not fall over. Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been declared to you from the beginning? Have you not considered the foundations of the earth? God is enthroned above the circle of the earth; its inhabitants are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like thin cloth and spreads them out like a tent to live in. He reduces princes to nothing and makes judges of the earth like a wasteland. They are barely planted, barely sown, their stem hardly takes root in the ground when he blows on them and they wither, and a whirlwind carries them away like stubble. “To whom will you compare me, or who is my equal?” asks the Holy One. Look up and see! Who created these? He brings out the stars by number; he calls all of them by name. Because of his great power and strength, not one of them is missing.” ‭‭(Isaiah‬ ‭40‬:‭12‬-‭26‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

Perspective matters, in art and in life. In fact, perspective is so important, our brains will often misinterpret what we see when we get the perspective wrong – like holding a small fish closer to the camera to make it appear larger in the photos. Nobody I know or fish with would ever do something Iike that. But we often have our perspective of God wrong. Trust me, there’s a big difference between exaggerating the size of fish and minimizing the power, majesty and might of our God.

Last week, we considered the first eleven verses of Isaiah 40 and those verses told us that God’s divine glory and purpose is directed towards bringing comfort and redemption, but specifically to His people. Those who will walk with Him by faith – faith like Abraham in the fulfillment of God’s personal promises. The first half of Isaiah is focused on man’s sin and God’s judgment. The second half is focused on God’s divine purpose in redeeming us of our sinful pride and rebellion towards God’s will. 

As I mentioned, perspective matters. When Japanese filmmakers shot the original Godzilla movie, they used a 1/50th scale model of the city of Tokyo and the monstrous beast. To see it at scale removes all of the fear that the filmmaker wanted to elicit from the audience. But when viewed with the filmmaker’s intended perspective, it generated immense fear. The verses we consider this week, need to be seen with the proper perspective – not from our human perspective but from a divine perspective. We have a real tendency to view God with a human perspective, and that causes us to minimize Him and underestimate His authority and character.

We often worship a weightless God, a god who has no glory, no power, no influence and no authority over us or our lives. Simply stated, the weightless god we often seek, teach and espouse is NOT the God of scripture. Why would we want such a weak and worthless god? So we can define him, make demands of him and control him. But a weightless god has no power and certainly doesn’t have the ability to redeem us and bring the real comfort we need in our chaotic world.

Isaiah’s words in this chapter are given to the people of God to ensure them, not only of God’s desire to save them, but also of His ability to save them and overcome their circumstances – Babylonian captivity (see verses 1-11 and last week’s notes https://wp.me/p5mod1-95V). God’s glory is displayed in the comfort and salvation He brings to His people. But is their God capable of doing what Isaiah tells them? Are His words of comfort and salvation more than just empty, vain promises? 

Let’s make this a little more personal, is God capable of doing in our lives what He has promised through the Old Testament laws, writings, and prophets? Are the lofty ideals, incredible stories and divine mission of Jesus, as presented in the gospels, real? Is He who He claims to be and can He do what He has promised? THAT is exactly what Isaiah 40 is all about. Is our God capable of doing what Isaiah claims He desires to do? That, my friends, is what Biblical faith is all about! So, listen to how Isaiah describes God from a divine perspective…

He begins by using an illustration from creation: “Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand or marked off the heavens with the span of His hand?” Secularism makes man the focus of existence and naturalism puts nature or “Mother Earth” as the focus. But as I mentioned above, putting man or nature at the center of existence changes our perspective in a dangerous way. It makes life, our existence and purpose, all about us and it results in self-existence, self-identity and idolatry. 

Are we really self-existent? Are we capable of creating and sustaining life in and of our self? If we are capable of self-existence, then self-identity is the natural next step. We create and sustain our own life, therefore we have every right to determine our own identity. But we are not capable of creating nor sustaining our selves, are we? We are subject to sickness, disease and death. We like to believe we are self-sustaining, but if we’re honest with ourselves we know that’s not true. But to deserve worship and address the sin of our self idolatry, Isaiah poses a much larger question… consider who God really is in light of the universe around us and not just of your own existence or identity. Perspective! He is the Wise Creator.

Now, Isaiah moves into a broader comparison. It’s not just a comparison of God and His power over you, but also His power and authority over the nations of the earth. They are like a drop in a bucket or speck of dust on God’s scales. In other words, the nations of the earth and their leaders tend to consider themselves to be of great importance in the overall scheme of things but not in God’s mind. 

In the mind of God’s people, the power and might of Babylon is overshadowing their view of the LORD God, right now, and Isaiah wants them to get their perspective right. Instead of fearing Babylon and their might, power and authority over the daily lives of the exiles, they need to see Babylon in relation to their God.

Not only does Isaiah want his people to see this truth, I need you to see and hear this same truth. I want you to recognize that whoever thinks they have the ability to exercise power, dominance and authority over your life pales in comparison to the God you worship and serve. In fact, they are nothing but a tiny drop in the bucket or a speck of dust on the scales of power and authority.  When you fear man and his power, you’ve lost perspective on the God you worship and serve. God, who created the heavens and the earth, desires to know you on a personal, intimate level. He is the Incredible LORD, who has revealed Himself to us with His personal name. 

Next, is the God we serve to be compared to the idols and false gods the world worships? Can you compare the God we worship to something created by a craftsman and placed on a pedestal? Is it even possible to compare the living LORD to something crafted by man’s hands and covered in gold? It doesn’t matter how fine the craftsmanship, how pure the gold, how detailed the image – nothing can compare to our God.

Are the idols and false gods of our world capable of delivering us from any of the evil we face? Do they love us and relate to us in a personal way like a father does to his children? Better yet, have they ever sacrificed themselves to redeem us from our slavery to self, pride and sin? No, they sit and take what doesn’t belong to them, the worship and glory that belongs to the only One true God. He’s not one of many, He is the ONE, the ONLY God.

Now, we turn the to the question of God’s activity, presence, power and purpose in this world. “Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been declared to you from the beginning? Have you not considered the foundations of the earth?” While God is spirit and cannot be seen, He has revealed Himself to us through His creation and in our lives. These verses demonstrate the frailty and foolishness of man and the eternal nature, wisdom and immutability of God. Must we see God in order to believe in Him? Must we understand Him to be able to trust Him? Must we know the details of His will to surrender ourselves to it?

We’ve never seen the wind, but we never question the reality of its existence. I don’t understand the intricacies of electricity, but I rely on its ability to power my world each day. I recognize the laws of nature and I see their influence and outcome on me and the world around me, but am I willing to trust and follow the Law Giver? Isaiah reminds us that our God is exists outside of His creation, above it, beyond it, and sovereign over it. While we are made in His image, He is above us, beyond us, greater than us. We are like Him, but He is unlike us. 

Has it ever occurred to you that nothing has ever occurred to God? Stop a second, let that sink in. We learn, we grow, we develop in our understanding and abilities but He does not for He already IS. We think and reason, but He already knows and understands. We figure things out, while He holds tomorrow in His hand. We try and do the right thing, but He sets all things right. We seek truth, but He is truth and simply declares. We explore, but He creates. We seek and try to find, but He reveals the things that are hidden and unknown. We strive to be, but He IS!

Isaiah wants God’s people to know that their current circumstances are temporary, but their God is forever. He wants to remind them that the rulers of Babylon may believe their power and authority will last forever, but only the LORD God will rule for eternity. We need to be reminded of this same thing. We often seek a savior from among men, but Isaiah reminds us that the only savior we need comes from the LORD. 

Finally, there are those who question God’s love, care and concern for this world because of the evil they perceive. But God is not the source of evil, evil is the absence of God. In science, cold does not exist in and of itself. Cold is simply the absence of heat. Darkness does not exist in and of itself, darkness is the absence of light. Evil does not exist in and of itself, it is the absence of the love and goodness of God. 

God asks, “To whom will you compare Me, or who is My equal?” The God who made the stars and calls each of them by name, cares about you and knows your name. What we need in our lives is not less evil, but more of the goodness of God. When the goodness of God floods into our lives, our world becomes a little less evil. Not just because we’ve received His goodness, but because He has called us to BE His goodness in this world. If your beliefs in God and His Word are more about what you shouldn’t do than what you should do, you’ve missed the point of His salvation. 

“Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, moral impurity, promiscuity, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and anything similar. I am warning you about these things — as I warned you before — that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The law is not against such things.” (Galatians‬ ‭5‬:‭19‬-‭23‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

So, how does the glory of God provide assurance of our salvation and our hope of eternal deliverance? If your salvation is based in your own goodness and the belief that you deserve to go to heaven, then it isn’t dependent upon God, at all. It is entirely dependent upon you and your ability. If you take that approach, your salvation will always be riddled with fear and doubt. Why? Because you wouldn’t need saving if you were already worthy of it. You don’t need God’s help if you can already do this on your own.

But if you recognize your need for God and His salvation, then His character, His power, His authority, His love, His mercy and His glory  – which puts all of these things on display – is your ASSURANCE that God will do what He has promised to do! If God brings out the stars by number; if He calls all of them by name and because of His great power and strength, not one of them is missing then just imagine what that means for His children.

I shared with you about my recent health crisis and my hospital stay. During that hospital stay, I was awakened in the early morning hours as the nurse came to check my vital statistics and change out my IV antibiotics. After she finished, I was lying in my bed and I began to pray and worship. In the midst of my worship, I began to ask God for healing and strength. As I did so, I clearly heard Him ask me; “Do you want healing or do you want Me? Am I sufficient for you?” 

To say I was humbled by God’s question is an understatement. I was floored by it. I knew immediately what I needed and it wasn’t what I had been seeking. I didn’t need healing, I needed HIM! He was more than sufficient for my immediate needs, but He’s also sufficient for my EVERYTHING. If He’s sufficient for my eternal salvation then He’s definitely sufficient for my life, my struggles, my troubles, my doubts and my fears.

So, let me ask you… Is HE enough? Is He sufficient for your needs? If He’s capable of walking out of that tomb on the third day, then He’s capable of delivering you! Let me assure you, His glory is just the visible aspect of His power, His authority and His sovereignty. Trust Him, He’s enough… He’s all you’ll ever need.