June 22, 2025 • 39 mins
Have you ever felt completely forgotten by God? In this powerful exploration of Isaiah 40:27-31, we journey into those dark moments when our prayers seem to hit the ceiling and bounce back. The Israelites in Babylon were asking the same devastating question we often face: "God, have you forgotten me?"
Like William Cooper, the brilliant hymn writer who battled crushing depression, we can find ourselves in spiritual freefall, feeling that "a soul once dead lives no more." Whether through dramatic crises or the slow erosion of daily struggles, we reach that hollow place where God seems silent and distant.
What's remarkable about this passage is God's response to their accusations. Rather than condemnation, He offers an invitation: "Lift up your eyes." He reveals Himself as eternal, all-powerful, never weary, and infinitely wise. But most beautifully, He shows Himself as tender toward the weak: "He gives strength to the faint and strengthens the powerless."
We discover that Christianity isn't about digging deeper into our limited human resources—it's about looking higher to the God whose strength has no limits. Like a drowning person must stop fighting to be saved, we must cease striving in our own power and surrender to the divine exchange: our weakness for His strength.
Through vivid imagery of soaring eagles, tireless runners, and steady walkers, Isaiah presents God's sustaining grace for every season. Some days we may soar above circumstances, other days we run with renewed energy, but most days we simply walk one steady step after another—and God promises His presence through it all.
This message speaks directly to anyone feeling spiritually exhausted, questioning if God still sees them, or wondering if their prayers matter. The answer echoes across millennia: the God who names every star knows your name too. Your weakness isn't failure—it's precisely where His strength begins.
Listen now to find hope in your weariness and discover how to exchange your empty tank for God's inexhaustible supply.
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Episode Transcript
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Doug McMasters (00:00):
Let's take our Bible and go to the book of
Isaiah, chapter 40, isaiah,chapter 40.
You're just visiting with usand I just want to mark out a
couple special visitors.
Over 20 years ago, when I wasyoung and didn't have all this
gray stuff hanging off of mychin, adele Rose would call this
(00:20):
young whippersnapper named DougMcMaster's pastor.
So she and a number of otherfolks would look at me and say
you know, I've got childrenyounger than you, and some of
them even said I havegrandchildren younger than you.
But we had a delightful timetogether in Northern California
and Adele is here with us alongwith her daughter, natalie,
(00:42):
enjoying some time in New YorkCity with family, and wanted to
come and spend this time with usin worship together.
So, welcome, glad to have youhere.
But we're just going throughthe book of Isaiah and we're
here now in chapter 40 together.
It's a beautiful passage andwe're going to be looking at
verses 27 through 31 together.
(01:06):
William Cooper, a man who'sknown today for writing some of
the grandest hymns and poemsthat have ever been marked in
the English language, found hisheart captured by despair and
darkness and depression at avery young age.
In 1752, at the age of 21,.
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He sank into one of four majorepisodes of depression in his
life, and he described thatfirst one like this I was struck
down with such a dejection ofspirit as none but they who have
felt the same can have theleast conception of Day and
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night.
I was upon the rack lying inhorror, only to rise up in
despair.
I presently lost all relish forthose studies to which before
had been my close attachment.
The classics no longer had anycharm for me.
I had need of something moresalutary, but I had not one to
(02:10):
direct me where to find it.
He was lost in gloom with nohope.
Later he wrote a letter to afriend and he said this.
He said, loaded as my life iswith despair, I have no such
comfort as would result from asupposed probability of better
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things to come once my lifeended.
You tell me that this coldgloom will be succeeded by a
cheerful spring, and youendeavor to encourage me to hope
for a spiritual changeresembling it.
And you endeavor to encourageme to hope for a spiritual
change resembling it, but allthat will be a lost labor.
Nature may revive itself again,but a soul once dead lives no
(02:58):
more.
Have you ever felt like thatyou ever felt, like God has
forgotten you, like your prayersreally just don't rise any
higher than the ceiling that youare sort of like.
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Cooper said, a soul once slainnever lives again.
This is exactly what the peoplein Israel or the Israelites, I
should say felt like here inIsaiah, chapter 40.
And they weren't just tired,they were spiritually
disillusioned.
They were God's chosen people,but here they were captives in
Babylon.
Their temple was destroyed,their land was ripped out from
(03:43):
underneath them, they wereshackled in chains by a foreign
nation far more powerful thanthey were, and their hope was
gone.
And two temptations creptdeeply into their heart To think
(04:08):
that the gods of Babylon weretrue, more real, stronger than
Yahweh, or a temptation simplyjust to give up and just comply
with everything that was infront of them, to embrace the
values and the culture ofBabylon and let go of any
identity of being an Israelite.
And their questions and theirquestions hardened into
(04:29):
accusation.
My way is hidden from the Lord,my claim is ignored by my God,
and maybe you've been there,maybe you're there now, perhaps
you're going through this timeright at the moment, where those
things are what you would speak, and maybe you're like Cooper,
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there I don't feel like I haveanyone to direct me to anything
better, but I want to tell youthis morning there is a better
place, there is someone you cango to.
There is hope in the middle ofthat kind of despair, and Isaiah
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wonderfully unfolds it.
And as we go through thispassage I pray that it'll bring
great comfort to all our hearts,maybe bringing salve over past
times of discouragement, maybemeeting you right in the moment
where you're at, or perhapspreparing you for a day that's
coming when all of these thingsmight grip your heart.
The first thing I want us tolook at is the complaint of the
weary in verse 27.
Take a look at what it saysthere.
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Jacob, why do you say?
And Israel, why do you assert?
My way is hidden from the Lordand my claim is ignored by my
God?
This cry reveals more than justfatigue.
It reveals a soul disorientedby sin and suffering.
(05:56):
They were spiritually unravelingin this moment.
They felt unseen, unheard,unloved, and their theology is
not just being questioned, it'scollapsing.
It's collapsing under theweight of decades of neglect and
disobedience that had led theminto this exile.
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Here they are now facing theconsequences of their iniquity
and they're presuming that allthat they're going to hear from
heaven is the sound of silence.
This isn't just sadness.
This is an ache of abandonmentperceived abandonment, but
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abandonment nonetheless.
Perceived abandonment, butabandonment nonetheless.
And their pain is drowning outthe voice of their theology.
They echo the same statement inIsaiah 49 and verse 14.
The Lord has forsaken me.
My Lord has forgotten me.
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And, as we'll find out, they'renot forsaken or forgotten.
In fact, they are still God'speople.
Yes, their temple is rubble.
Yes, their homeland's a memory.
Yes, their hope is hanging by athread.
But they're going to hearsomething different from God
here in a moment, but for themright now, it just felt like a
(07:33):
fraying thread that was about tobreak and plunge them into the
abyss of darkness.
And let's not be too quick todismiss them or their questions,
because I think all of us havefelt very similar words creeping
into the depth of our heartsGod, where are you?
Why aren't you answering?
Do you still see me?
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And this isn't just a uniquegrief.
You can read the scriptures inPsalm 13.
And David the warrior poet ohLord, will you forget me forever
?
Or Job, shattered andbewildered, in Job 13.
Why do you hide your face andconsider me as your enemy, or
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even Jesus in the deepest momentof despair, on the cross.
My God, my God, why have youforsaken me?
Several years ago we lived incentral London and close to our
house was a place calledWimbledon well, wimbledon Common
, but Wandsworth Common and wewould walk our Labrador
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Retriever night over toWandsworth Common and,
wonderfully, it was kind ofconfined and you could let him
go.
Everybody there had their dogsoff leash, which was a lot
different than here.
Over there they had a littleplace where the kids could be
and this whole big space wherethe dogs could be, and over here
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they have a big space where thekids could be in a little place
where the dogs could be.
So we would let Knight go andhe was one of the most sociable
dogs I had ever met and he wouldjust flit from person to person
and wag his tail and go sayhello, and then he'd run off to
somebody else and go say helloand run off to somebody else and
go say hello and after a littlewhile he'd realize that maybe
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he had an owner and he wouldturn around and he'd look and
sometimes we'd see each other'seyes and he'd be happy, and
other times he couldn't see usand all of a sudden panic would
rise up into him and he wouldjust dart from one place to the
next looking for us, franticthat maybe he was just left
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alone there.
And one day someone came up tous and they said I think your
dog is looking for you.
That's what despair does to us.
It makes us feel like thedistance is absence, that our
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inability to see means there'snothing to see.
But what night didn't know wasthat we were watching him, that
we had our eye on him, we knewwhere he was.
And, as we'll learn in a moment, god's silence is not God's
absence.
His quiet is an invitation tolean in and to learn more about
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who he is, to come into a deeperaccount, encounter with the
holy God.
And you know, you don't evenneed a desperate situation to
get there.
Even sometimes the ordinarywork and labor of life can bring
us into that kind of moment.
It's a slower degrade, but itstill brings us to the same
place.
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Martha, when Jesus spoke to herin Luke 10, said Martha, martha,
you are anxious and troubledabout many things.
She was encumbered by life.
Wonderfully, the Lord Jesusdidn't dismiss her, he didn't
scold her, he redirected her andhe reminded her, and he reminds
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us of something better that ourweariness is not failure.
In fact, our weariness and ourhollowness of life and darkness
is really just a call within oursoul for a redeemer, our
rescuer, to come.
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We live in a fallen world andwe too are fallen people, and
our longings aren't proof ofgod's absence.
What they are echoes of thedependent life that we were
meant to live.
We were designed to live independence upon god, and when we
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get caught up, just grindingaway with our own abilities and
strength, we lose sight of theone who's meant to give us the
supply for all things, and so hebrings us down a pathway that
makes us, at a time, to rememberthat we must look to the one
who restores all things,restores all things.
(12:32):
And this ache that's in ourhearts, it's not just personal,
it's cosmic.
The scriptures tell us thecreation itself eagerly waits
for the anticipation of God'ssons to be revealed, and the
whole creation has been groaning, together with labor pains,
until now, together with laborpains until now.
And we groan within ourselves,eagerly waiting for adoption,
the redemption of our bodies.
This whole universe is longingto be released from what's
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happening now to be brought intosomething better.
Creation groans and we groan,but the Bible tells us we don't
have to groan in despair.
We don't groan without hope.
We groan in hope and we groannot just for relief, but
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redemption, a restoration of allthings to be reclaimed to
better than the best day thatwe've ever had.
To that time when it says, eyehas not seen, nor his ear even
heard the things that God hasprepared for those who love him.
This is what we're longing forand this is what the aching
cries of our heart are actuallycommunicating.
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How does God address these folks?
They deserve to be wherethey're at They've.
Does he grind them into thedust?
Does he tell them look, youdeserve everything you're
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getting.
Does he walk away and say youfeel absent?
Well, you ought to.
No, he doesn't.
Verse 26, lift up your eyes,look up and see.
He's telling them that he's nothid.
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He wants them to look.
It's a divine invitation tocome to the end of themselves
and to go to him, to meet him,who is the strength, and his
strength begins where ourstrength ends and he redirects
their gaze.
He tells them don't look downat your chains, look up at the
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stars and then look at the onewho created those stars.
Each star is shining in itsplace and it's not forgotten.
He names every one and he canlook into the abyss of your
hollowed heart and he knows yourname too.
You see, he answers theirweakness not with condemnation
(15:16):
but with comfort, not withshallow optimism, but with a
deeper revelation of his nature.
He's eternal, he's wise andhe's tender to the weak.
Let's take a look at thispassage Jacob, why do you say?
And Israel, why do you assertmy way is hidden from the Lord
(15:38):
and my claim is ignored by myGod.
Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God, the creator of the whole earth
.
He never becomes faint or weary.
There's no limit to hisunderstanding.
Look up and see.
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He's eternal, he's not bound bytime, he's a creator, he's not
limited by creation.
He's tireless, he's never wearyor overwhelmed and he's wise.
His understanding isunsearchable.
Now, these things are not meantto be packed off into some
(16:23):
little distant high ivory towerto be dissected by theologians
alone.
This is not detachedtheological abstraction here.
This is a revelation of Godthat we need most when we're
ground into the ground.
These are not theologicalbullet points simply to file
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away and say, well, I know Godis eternal, I know God is
creator, I know God is wise, Iknow God is tireless.
No, I'm glad you could say that, but you need to hear that
because it's a lifeline for yoursoul that's been flattened by
grief or sorrow or distress.
And Isaiah is not simplystacking doctrines here.
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He's opening up a window totheir suffocating soul.
Let's unpack it for just amoment.
He's eternal, he's not bound bytime, and we need a God who is
eternal, who is present not onlyin the moment but also in the
outcome, that he understandswhen we're hemmed in by
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circumstances.
We need a God who is thecreator, who can bring something
out of nothing and has optionsthat are beyond our imagination.
When we're overwhelmed, wecling to the truth that he never
is Overwhelmed.
We cling to the truth that henever is.
His strength doesn't flicker.
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His capacities don't run low.
He's not out of help when weneed it and when our situation
makes no sense.
His wisdom is not missing.
His ways are unsearchable.
(18:12):
It's not absent from us.
It's deeper and higher andkinder than we understand.
One of the things I loved aboutAdele was going to her house and
seeing all the textiles thatshe was working on.
We just had a sweet littlemoment earlier before the
service about how she found abox we had left at her house
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because we couldn't fit it allin the container we were
bringing to London, and sheopened it up and she's been
spinning some thread justremembering us over the past
month.
So it was delightful.
But often we're like a littlechild underneath a loom and
we're looking up and all we seeare the scattered threads that
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are going this way and that andnone of it makes sense and none
of it feels like it's a pattern.
Until you get on top and yousee it all there in a beautiful
artistry.
From the underside it lookslike chaos.
From God's point of view it's amasterpiece in progress.
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And so the Lord here is notdistant.
He's giving them a revelationof himself and he wants to
relocate their perspectiveoutside of themselves and their
circumstances to him.
But we haven't even got to thegreatest thing that he wants to
say about himself.
Not only is he eternal, notonly is the creator, not only is
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his strength without wearinessand not only is he wise beyond
comprehension.
Take a look at the next verse.
He gives strength to the faintand strengthens the powerless.
Who is this God?
Who is eternal?
Who is this God?
Who's the creator who said letthere be and there was.
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Who is this God that is notweary, whose wisdom never fails?
He's a God who's gentle to theweak.
He doesn't shame the weak, hestrengthens them.
He's not annoyed by ourweaknesses, he's drawn to it.
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He doesn't tell us come backwhen you're better.
He says come to me, all you wholabor and heavy laden, and I'll
give you rest, said our LordJesus.
My grace is sufficient for you,for my power is made perfect in
your weakness.
This is God.
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He doesn't just pin the starsin his place.
With his power he lifts up theweary, he names the galaxies and
he knows us.
And when Isaiah is here speakingabout, in poetry, jesus brought
and embodied in person In himthe everlasting God, stepped
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into time, the creator enteringcreation not with power and
thunder, but in frailty andflesh.
He became weary to carry ourweariness and he walked among us
.
And he didn't avoid the failingand the weak and the faint, he
moved toward them.
He touched lepers, he wept withthe grieving, he relieved the
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bent and the broken and on thecross he bore the sins of the
exiled soul.
My God, my God, why have youforsaken me, taking on the
punishment of all those whowould one day believe on him?
He entered our forsakenness theforsakenness that we deserve
because of our sin, so that wemight be forgiven and never
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forsaken again.
He became weak so that in ourweaknesses his power might rest
upon us.
He was cast down so that wecould have the promise that one
day we would rise forever.
So if you feel overlooked orperhaps forgotten or ground down
by grief or delay or silence,especially if the source of that
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despair is one of your ownmaking, listen to the Savior
here, who spoke to people in themidst of a hollowness of heart
and even an accusation againsthim that they had brought
themselves to, and he says tothem lift up your eyes.
And he says to them lift upyour eyes.
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Isaiah, in a couple chapters,will say this he will not break
a bruised reed, he will notquench a smoldering wick.
That's our Lord Jesus.
Come to me and I will give yourest.
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The voice that spoke thegalaxies into being wants to
whisper strength into our soul,and I pray that this message in
Isaiah will do that.
He's not telling you to comebecause you need to be stronger.
He's telling you to come to himbecause you are not strong.
And look, in verse 30 and 31, ofthe comfort that comes to the
trusting.
After lifting up our eyes towho he is, this everlasting,
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eternal God creator, endlesslystrong, ever wise, ever gracious
, he gives a word of comfort.
Yous may become faint and weary, and young men stumble and fall
, but those who trust in theLord will renew their strength.
They will soar in wings likeeagles.
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They'll run and not becomeweary.
They will walk and not faint.
Even yous shall faint and beweary, and young men will feel
exhausted.
Even youths shall faint and beweary, and young men will feel
exhausted.
Nobody's immune, not the young,not the energetic, not the
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capable.
We're all all able to fail.
There's a limit to ourstrengths.
Even a marathon runner hits thewall.
Even the brightest studentblanks out.
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Even spiritual leaders run dry.
Strength has an expiration date, except for those who tap into
someone who's greater than theyare.
They who wait on the Lord shallrenew their strength.
Now, that word renew theirstrength is an important word.
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It doesn't just mean a recharge, it means an exchange Right.
Recharge, it means an exchangeright, this is God taking his
tank and swapping out your emptyone, right?
It's not.
Just let me put a little bit inyour tank, let me give you a
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new tank and waiting.
Waiting is not just quietstillness and I wonder if God's
going to do something one day.
Let me just watch my clock.
No, waiting isn't a time word.
Waiting is a hopeful expectanttrust.
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Waiting is a hopeful expectanttrust.
Micah and David and I, in twoseparate times, had the delight
of hiking the Grand Canyon, andso when I was reading about the
Grand Canyon trips, I read abook called Death in the Grand
Canyon.
I don't recommend reading thatbook before you hike the Grand
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Canyon, but it talked about oneof the episodes in which the
Bright Angel Creek or river I'mnot sure what it's called was
flooding into the Colorado andjust a wash of mud and earth and
stone came tumbling down thecanyon and was wiping out the
Bright Angel trailhead and alsothe campground that was there,
and some people clambered uponto some rocks as the waters
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rushed around them and as theyrose and they rose, and they
rose, they were wondering ifthey were in the safe spot, but
thankfully they were.
Sadly others weren't, but whenthey were sitting there, with
the torrents of mud and earthand water raging beside them and
around them on this highterritory, all they could do was
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think of the security of thespot that they were in and hope
that it stayed strong.
If you were to put this wordwaiting, into that, it would be
that what are you waiting on?
I'm waiting on this rock tokeep me firm.
What is waiting on the Lordmean?
(27:16):
I'm relying on him to keep mefirm.
It's not a time question, it'sa trust matter.
And the promises here that arejust wonderful and seemingly
backwards.
We go from soaring into theskies to running with strength,
(27:37):
to walking with endurance.
You would think, isaiah, yougot this backwards.
We should be walking, running,flying, not flying, running,
running, flying, not flying,running, walking.
But I think it's a greatpicture.
What does he say about this,this comfort that he gives to us
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?
First of all, we'll mount upwith wings like eagles.
Eagles don't escape storms.
They find the updraft and movethrough them into higher places,
and what we receive is aspiritual updraft that brings us
through the storms of life toplaces of peace and serenity,
and God's strength can carry usabove the circumstances that are
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dragging us down.
Run and not be weary.
We're given strength for a longrace.
Be weary.
We're given strength for a longrace.
The people in exile here it'sgoing to be 70 years before they
get out of this.
Did you hear that?
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70 years?
That's a long time.
Their hardships are going to belifelong for most, all of them.
There's going to be no escape.
For them.
It's going to be a long,winding, relentless road of
captivity in the hands of theBabylonians, but God promises
them not release but the abilityto run right through it all,
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every one of those 70 years.
Jesus ran this race.
The writer of Hebrews said thathis life ended in death, but he
kept his eye forward and for thejoy that was set before him, he
endured the cross, despisingthe shame.
(29:29):
He knew what was ahead andyou'll walk and not faint.
There are a lot of times inlife when you don't feel like
you're soaring and there's a lotof times when you don't think
you could ever run.
Most days are really justsimply days of walking, aren't
they?
And perhaps you're walkingright now through something an
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agonizing loss, a grindingdivorce, a painful disease, the
monotony of an ever repetitivelife of folding laundry and
attending appointments andshaping children and cooking
dinners.
But here's the promise monotonyof an ever repetitive life of
folding laundry and attendingappointments and shaping
children and cooking dinners.
But here's the promise Even ifyou don't feel like you're
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soaring, even if you don't feellike you're running, you can
walk and not faint.
God can sustain you step bystep.
He can take you through all theheadwinds of your hardships,
through all the mind-numbingmonotony of your mundane moments
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.
He can take you through them.
And so what we're left with hereis really an implicit call to
trust.
And that's what we're going toleave with here this challenge
and this call to trust.
We've looked at the complaint,we've looked at the character of
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God, we looked at the comfortto the trusting, and he's
bringing it home to them and tous.
Are you going to continue andeventually collapse under the
weight of your own strength?
Are you going to put yourselfin the hands of someone who else
has strength far beyond yourown?
You see, the source of thatstrength is not within us.
(31:25):
We don't survive this lifesimply by our grit and our
willpower and our positivity.
And Christianity is not grit orwillpower or positivity, even
if some smiling guy from Houstontells you it is, you don't need
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to dig deeper, you just need tolook higher, right, you need to
dig deeper.
You just need to look higher,right, you need to look up.
Like Isaiah says here look up.
And the recipients of thatstrength are not self-made
people, they're self-awarepeople.
God is the one who gives thepower.
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He's not here to sort ofcongratulate the proud performer
.
He wants to meet the faint andthe failing and the falling and
provide something they don'thave.
And the way to receive it isnot through self-reformation,
(32:27):
it's through surrender,collapsing into the arms of God,
who says that he gives grace tothe humble but resists the
proud.
And that's not a threat, that'san invitation.
He gives grace to the humble,it's a call to humility, it's an
invitation to receive.
(32:48):
You talk to a lifeguard, and oneof the things that they'll do
when they go to rescue someonewho's drowning is wait for them
to quit fighting, because ifthey grab a hold of someone
who's full of strength and fight, they could be a victim too.
And what they need for thatdrowning person is to quit
trying to save themselves so thelifeguard can take them to
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safety.
And here the Lord is telling usstop fighting, stop trying to
save yourself, stop trying todig deeper into yourself.
Look to him.
Look to him when you havenothing, when you can offer
nothing.
Lift up your eyes.
Lift up your eyes, let go ofyour strength and lay down your
(33:40):
pride.
Let's draw this to a close.
God's not promising themimmediate escape here Like I
said, it's 70 years in exile inBabylon but he did promise them
something better His sustainingpresence.
It's no wonder that the NewTestament calls the world system
(34:07):
Babylon.
It's no wonder that the NewTestament calls the world system
Babylon, because in some wayswe're in the midst of enemy
territory, a world system thatis contrary to the ways of God,
the embodiment in a city of theworld, the flesh and the devil
(34:29):
Wrapped up in human construct.
But here's the hope he cansustain us, so much so that we
could feel sometimes like we'resoaring, many times like we're
running and always like we'rewalking.
So if you're a believer, thismorning, your weariness and your
(34:51):
weakness, they're not failures,they're not.
And God is not going to walkaway and say you're done.
He's inviting you to somethingbetter, to a cry, not because he
(35:13):
wanted them just to be betteror to say that their pain was
not valid, but because, withcompassion, he looked upon the
crowds as sheep without ashepherd, and he brought himself
to the cross for us, not justto be alongside of us, but to
(35:36):
forgive us, so that he would beable to promise us I will never,
no, never, not, ever forsakeyou, and so that he might bring
us into the place where our eyeswill be forever dry, where
there'll be no tears, where theformer things will have passed
away, where the new creationexists forever, never, ever
(35:59):
wants to be mitigated in all ofits splendor and glory.
And so those eyes that weptoutside Lazarus' tomb beckon us
to come to him.
If you're not a believer, youdon't yet know the Lord Jesus as
your Savior.
Jesus is not offering you areligion.
(36:21):
He's offering you rest for yoursoul.
He's not demanding yourstrength.
What he's calling for is yourhonesty about yourself.
He's not asking you to bring aresume either.
(36:41):
He doesn't want to see how wellput together you are.
He wants you to surrenderyourself as you are to him, in
the full acknowledgement of yoursin and your disobedience and
the lack of any deserve toreceive any blush of his mercy.
(37:02):
He says come to me, because tothe weary he gives strength.
To the weary he gives strength,and to the broken he gives
grace, and to those who waitupon him he gives wings.
So lift up your eyes.
Lift up your eyes and look to aGod who is eternal, a God who
(37:27):
created all things, a God whosestrength never flags, a God
who's wise beyond your wildestimaginations, and a God who is
far more good and gracious thanwe could ever deserve.
Look up and see.
Let's pray.
Look up and see, let's pray.
(37:54):
Father, as we bow our heartsbefore the splendor of your word
, we have to say, father, thatour souls are filled with awe
and wonder over who you are,that these words could be
breathed into our every day,that this is a revelation of
your person, that's aninvitation that we don't deserve
(38:17):
to hear or to receive, but it'sgot our very name inscribed on
it.
There's no God like you.
There's no God like you, andthere's no one we should give
(38:37):
ourself, but you, father.
I pray that each of us here,whatever place we are in our
spiritual condition, might hearthe wonderful welcome of your
word, as you spoke to people somany hundreds of miles away from
home, distant from placesfamiliar to them, with the buzz
(39:03):
of strange languages and customsand food surrounding them,
where their hearts cried outwith accusation that you had
forgotten them.
And yet you spoke peace andcomfort and strength and mercy
and supply.
Father, when our hearts aretempted to do the same, we ask,
(39:26):
lord, that you might remind usto come back here, to you and to
this revelation of yourself, sothat we might look up and see a
God who is great and a God whois full of grace.
And we pray this in Christ'sname Amen.
Let's take our Bible and go to the book of
Isaiah, chapter 40, isaiah,chapter 40.
You're just visiting with usand I just want to mark out a
couple special visitors.
Over 20 years ago, when I wasyoung and didn't have all this
gray stuff hanging off of mychin, adele Rose would call this
(00:20):
young whippersnapper named DougMcMaster's pastor.
So she and a number of otherfolks would look at me and say
you know, I've got childrenyounger than you, and some of
them even said I havegrandchildren younger than you.
But we had a delightful timetogether in Northern California
and Adele is here with us alongwith her daughter, natalie,
(00:42):
enjoying some time in New YorkCity with family, and wanted to
come and spend this time with usin worship together.
So, welcome, glad to have youhere.
But we're just going throughthe book of Isaiah and we're
here now in chapter 40 together.
It's a beautiful passage andwe're going to be looking at
verses 27 through 31 together.
(01:06):
William Cooper, a man who'sknown today for writing some of
the grandest hymns and poemsthat have ever been marked in
the English language, found hisheart captured by despair and
darkness and depression at avery young age.
In 1752, at the age of 21,.
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He sank into one of four majorepisodes of depression in his
life, and he described thatfirst one like this I was struck
down with such a dejection ofspirit as none but they who have
felt the same can have theleast conception of Day and
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night.
I was upon the rack lying inhorror, only to rise up in
despair.
I presently lost all relish forthose studies to which before
had been my close attachment.
The classics no longer had anycharm for me.
I had need of something moresalutary, but I had not one to
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direct me where to find it.
He was lost in gloom with nohope.
Later he wrote a letter to afriend and he said this.
He said, loaded as my life iswith despair, I have no such
comfort as would result from asupposed probability of better
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things to come once my lifeended.
You tell me that this coldgloom will be succeeded by a
cheerful spring, and youendeavor to encourage me to hope
for a spiritual changeresembling it.
And you endeavor to encourageme to hope for a spiritual
change resembling it, but allthat will be a lost labor.
Nature may revive itself again,but a soul once dead lives no
(02:58):
more.
Have you ever felt like thatyou ever felt, like God has
forgotten you, like your prayersreally just don't rise any
higher than the ceiling that youare sort of like.
(03:21):
Cooper said, a soul once slainnever lives again.
This is exactly what the peoplein Israel or the Israelites, I
should say felt like here inIsaiah, chapter 40.
And they weren't just tired,they were spiritually
disillusioned.
They were God's chosen people,but here they were captives in
Babylon.
Their temple was destroyed,their land was ripped out from
(03:43):
underneath them, they wereshackled in chains by a foreign
nation far more powerful thanthey were, and their hope was
gone.
And two temptations creptdeeply into their heart To think
(04:08):
that the gods of Babylon weretrue, more real, stronger than
Yahweh, or a temptation simplyjust to give up and just comply
with everything that was infront of them, to embrace the
values and the culture ofBabylon and let go of any
identity of being an Israelite.
And their questions and theirquestions hardened into
(04:29):
accusation.
My way is hidden from the Lord,my claim is ignored by my God,
and maybe you've been there,maybe you're there now, perhaps
you're going through this timeright at the moment, where those
things are what you would speak, and maybe you're like Cooper,
(04:53):
there I don't feel like I haveanyone to direct me to anything
better, but I want to tell youthis morning there is a better
place, there is someone you cango to.
There is hope in the middle ofthat kind of despair, and Isaiah
(05:14):
wonderfully unfolds it.
And as we go through thispassage I pray that it'll bring
great comfort to all our hearts,maybe bringing salve over past
times of discouragement, maybemeeting you right in the moment
where you're at, or perhapspreparing you for a day that's
coming when all of these thingsmight grip your heart.
The first thing I want us tolook at is the complaint of the
weary in verse 27.
Take a look at what it saysthere.
(05:35):
Jacob, why do you say?
And Israel, why do you assert?
My way is hidden from the Lordand my claim is ignored by my
God?
This cry reveals more than justfatigue.
It reveals a soul disorientedby sin and suffering.
(05:56):
They were spiritually unravelingin this moment.
They felt unseen, unheard,unloved, and their theology is
not just being questioned, it'scollapsing.
It's collapsing under theweight of decades of neglect and
disobedience that had led theminto this exile.
(06:17):
Here they are now facing theconsequences of their iniquity
and they're presuming that allthat they're going to hear from
heaven is the sound of silence.
This isn't just sadness.
This is an ache of abandonmentperceived abandonment, but
(06:42):
abandonment nonetheless.
Perceived abandonment, butabandonment nonetheless.
And their pain is drowning outthe voice of their theology.
They echo the same statement inIsaiah 49 and verse 14.
The Lord has forsaken me.
My Lord has forgotten me.
(07:03):
And, as we'll find out, they'renot forsaken or forgotten.
In fact, they are still God'speople.
Yes, their temple is rubble.
Yes, their homeland's a memory.
Yes, their hope is hanging by athread.
But they're going to hearsomething different from God
here in a moment, but for themright now, it just felt like a
(07:33):
fraying thread that was about tobreak and plunge them into the
abyss of darkness.
And let's not be too quick todismiss them or their questions,
because I think all of us havefelt very similar words creeping
into the depth of our heartsGod, where are you?
Why aren't you answering?
Do you still see me?
(07:54):
And this isn't just a uniquegrief.
You can read the scriptures inPsalm 13.
And David the warrior poet ohLord, will you forget me forever
?
Or Job, shattered andbewildered, in Job 13.
Why do you hide your face andconsider me as your enemy, or
(08:20):
even Jesus in the deepest momentof despair, on the cross.
My God, my God, why have youforsaken me?
Several years ago we lived incentral London and close to our
house was a place calledWimbledon well, wimbledon Common
, but Wandsworth Common and wewould walk our Labrador
(08:41):
Retriever night over toWandsworth Common and,
wonderfully, it was kind ofconfined and you could let him
go.
Everybody there had their dogsoff leash, which was a lot
different than here.
Over there they had a littleplace where the kids could be
and this whole big space wherethe dogs could be, and over here
(09:02):
they have a big space where thekids could be in a little place
where the dogs could be.
So we would let Knight go andhe was one of the most sociable
dogs I had ever met and he wouldjust flit from person to person
and wag his tail and go sayhello, and then he'd run off to
somebody else and go say helloand run off to somebody else and
go say hello and after a littlewhile he'd realize that maybe
(09:25):
he had an owner and he wouldturn around and he'd look and
sometimes we'd see each other'seyes and he'd be happy, and
other times he couldn't see usand all of a sudden panic would
rise up into him and he wouldjust dart from one place to the
next looking for us, franticthat maybe he was just left
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alone there.
And one day someone came up tous and they said I think your
dog is looking for you.
That's what despair does to us.
It makes us feel like thedistance is absence, that our
(10:08):
inability to see means there'snothing to see.
But what night didn't know wasthat we were watching him, that
we had our eye on him, we knewwhere he was.
And, as we'll learn in a moment, god's silence is not God's
absence.
His quiet is an invitation tolean in and to learn more about
(10:33):
who he is, to come into a deeperaccount, encounter with the
holy God.
And you know, you don't evenneed a desperate situation to
get there.
Even sometimes the ordinarywork and labor of life can bring
us into that kind of moment.
It's a slower degrade, but itstill brings us to the same
place.
(10:55):
Martha, when Jesus spoke to herin Luke 10, said Martha, martha,
you are anxious and troubledabout many things.
She was encumbered by life.
Wonderfully, the Lord Jesusdidn't dismiss her, he didn't
scold her, he redirected her andhe reminded her, and he reminds
(11:19):
us of something better that ourweariness is not failure.
In fact, our weariness and ourhollowness of life and darkness
is really just a call within oursoul for a redeemer, our
rescuer, to come.
(11:39):
We live in a fallen world andwe too are fallen people, and
our longings aren't proof ofgod's absence.
What they are echoes of thedependent life that we were
meant to live.
We were designed to live independence upon god, and when we
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get caught up, just grindingaway with our own abilities and
strength, we lose sight of theone who's meant to give us the
supply for all things, and so hebrings us down a pathway that
makes us, at a time, to rememberthat we must look to the one
who restores all things,restores all things.
(12:32):
And this ache that's in ourhearts, it's not just personal,
it's cosmic.
The scriptures tell us thecreation itself eagerly waits
for the anticipation of God'ssons to be revealed, and the
whole creation has been groaning, together with labor pains,
until now, together with laborpains until now.
And we groan within ourselves,eagerly waiting for adoption,
the redemption of our bodies.
This whole universe is longingto be released from what's
(12:58):
happening now to be brought intosomething better.
Creation groans and we groan,but the Bible tells us we don't
have to groan in despair.
We don't groan without hope.
We groan in hope and we groannot just for relief, but
(13:20):
redemption, a restoration of allthings to be reclaimed to
better than the best day thatwe've ever had.
To that time when it says, eyehas not seen, nor his ear even
heard the things that God hasprepared for those who love him.
This is what we're longing forand this is what the aching
cries of our heart are actuallycommunicating.
(13:47):
How does God address these folks?
They deserve to be wherethey're at They've.
Does he grind them into thedust?
Does he tell them look, youdeserve everything you're
(14:09):
getting.
Does he walk away and say youfeel absent?
Well, you ought to.
No, he doesn't.
Verse 26, lift up your eyes,look up and see.
He's telling them that he's nothid.
(14:30):
He wants them to look.
It's a divine invitation tocome to the end of themselves
and to go to him, to meet him,who is the strength, and his
strength begins where ourstrength ends and he redirects
their gaze.
He tells them don't look downat your chains, look up at the
(14:54):
stars and then look at the onewho created those stars.
Each star is shining in itsplace and it's not forgotten.
He names every one and he canlook into the abyss of your
hollowed heart and he knows yourname too.
You see, he answers theirweakness not with condemnation
(15:16):
but with comfort, not withshallow optimism, but with a
deeper revelation of his nature.
He's eternal, he's wise andhe's tender to the weak.
Let's take a look at thispassage Jacob, why do you say?
And Israel, why do you assertmy way is hidden from the Lord
(15:38):
and my claim is ignored by myGod.
Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God, the creator of the whole earth
.
He never becomes faint or weary.
There's no limit to hisunderstanding.
Look up and see.
(16:01):
He's eternal, he's not bound bytime, he's a creator, he's not
limited by creation.
He's tireless, he's never wearyor overwhelmed and he's wise.
His understanding isunsearchable.
Now, these things are not meantto be packed off into some
(16:23):
little distant high ivory towerto be dissected by theologians
alone.
This is not detachedtheological abstraction here.
This is a revelation of Godthat we need most when we're
ground into the ground.
These are not theologicalbullet points simply to file
(16:44):
away and say, well, I know Godis eternal, I know God is
creator, I know God is wise, Iknow God is tireless.
No, I'm glad you could say that, but you need to hear that
because it's a lifeline for yoursoul that's been flattened by
grief or sorrow or distress.
And Isaiah is not simplystacking doctrines here.
(17:07):
He's opening up a window totheir suffocating soul.
Let's unpack it for just amoment.
He's eternal, he's not bound bytime, and we need a God who is
eternal, who is present not onlyin the moment but also in the
outcome, that he understandswhen we're hemmed in by
(17:31):
circumstances.
We need a God who is thecreator, who can bring something
out of nothing and has optionsthat are beyond our imagination.
When we're overwhelmed, wecling to the truth that he never
is Overwhelmed.
We cling to the truth that henever is.
His strength doesn't flicker.
(17:51):
His capacities don't run low.
He's not out of help when weneed it and when our situation
makes no sense.
His wisdom is not missing.
His ways are unsearchable.
(18:12):
It's not absent from us.
It's deeper and higher andkinder than we understand.
One of the things I loved aboutAdele was going to her house and
seeing all the textiles thatshe was working on.
We just had a sweet littlemoment earlier before the
service about how she found abox we had left at her house
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because we couldn't fit it allin the container we were
bringing to London, and sheopened it up and she's been
spinning some thread justremembering us over the past
month.
So it was delightful.
But often we're like a littlechild underneath a loom and
we're looking up and all we seeare the scattered threads that
(18:54):
are going this way and that andnone of it makes sense and none
of it feels like it's a pattern.
Until you get on top and yousee it all there in a beautiful
artistry.
From the underside it lookslike chaos.
From God's point of view it's amasterpiece in progress.
(19:14):
And so the Lord here is notdistant.
He's giving them a revelationof himself and he wants to
relocate their perspectiveoutside of themselves and their
circumstances to him.
But we haven't even got to thegreatest thing that he wants to
say about himself.
Not only is he eternal, notonly is the creator, not only is
(19:39):
his strength without wearinessand not only is he wise beyond
comprehension.
Take a look at the next verse.
He gives strength to the faintand strengthens the powerless.
Who is this God?
Who is eternal?
Who is this God?
Who's the creator who said letthere be and there was.
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Who is this God that is notweary, whose wisdom never fails?
He's a God who's gentle to theweak.
He doesn't shame the weak, hestrengthens them.
He's not annoyed by ourweaknesses, he's drawn to it.
(20:21):
He doesn't tell us come backwhen you're better.
He says come to me, all you wholabor and heavy laden, and I'll
give you rest, said our LordJesus.
My grace is sufficient for you,for my power is made perfect in
your weakness.
This is God.
(20:43):
He doesn't just pin the starsin his place.
With his power he lifts up theweary, he names the galaxies and
he knows us.
And when Isaiah is here speakingabout, in poetry, jesus brought
and embodied in person In himthe everlasting God, stepped
(21:08):
into time, the creator enteringcreation not with power and
thunder, but in frailty andflesh.
He became weary to carry ourweariness and he walked among us
.
And he didn't avoid the failingand the weak and the faint, he
moved toward them.
He touched lepers, he wept withthe grieving, he relieved the
(21:36):
bent and the broken and on thecross he bore the sins of the
exiled soul.
My God, my God, why have youforsaken me, taking on the
punishment of all those whowould one day believe on him?
He entered our forsakenness theforsakenness that we deserve
because of our sin, so that wemight be forgiven and never
(22:04):
forsaken again.
He became weak so that in ourweaknesses his power might rest
upon us.
He was cast down so that wecould have the promise that one
day we would rise forever.
So if you feel overlooked orperhaps forgotten or ground down
by grief or delay or silence,especially if the source of that
(22:28):
despair is one of your ownmaking, listen to the Savior
here, who spoke to people in themidst of a hollowness of heart
and even an accusation againsthim that they had brought
themselves to, and he says tothem lift up your eyes.
And he says to them lift upyour eyes.
(22:50):
Isaiah, in a couple chapters,will say this he will not break
a bruised reed, he will notquench a smoldering wick.
That's our Lord Jesus.
Come to me and I will give yourest.
(23:12):
The voice that spoke thegalaxies into being wants to
whisper strength into our soul,and I pray that this message in
Isaiah will do that.
He's not telling you to comebecause you need to be stronger.
He's telling you to come to himbecause you are not strong.
And look, in verse 30 and 31, ofthe comfort that comes to the
trusting.
After lifting up our eyes towho he is, this everlasting,
(23:37):
eternal God creator, endlesslystrong, ever wise, ever gracious
, he gives a word of comfort.
Yous may become faint and weary, and young men stumble and fall
, but those who trust in theLord will renew their strength.
They will soar in wings likeeagles.
(23:57):
They'll run and not becomeweary.
They will walk and not faint.
Even yous shall faint and beweary, and young men will feel
exhausted.
Even youths shall faint and beweary, and young men will feel
exhausted.
Nobody's immune, not the young,not the energetic, not the
(24:19):
capable.
We're all all able to fail.
There's a limit to ourstrengths.
Even a marathon runner hits thewall.
Even the brightest studentblanks out.
(24:40):
Even spiritual leaders run dry.
Strength has an expiration date, except for those who tap into
someone who's greater than theyare.
They who wait on the Lord shallrenew their strength.
Now, that word renew theirstrength is an important word.
(25:02):
It doesn't just mean a recharge, it means an exchange Right.
Recharge, it means an exchangeright, this is God taking his
tank and swapping out your emptyone, right?
It's not.
Just let me put a little bit inyour tank, let me give you a
(25:28):
new tank and waiting.
Waiting is not just quietstillness and I wonder if God's
going to do something one day.
Let me just watch my clock.
No, waiting isn't a time word.
Waiting is a hopeful expectanttrust.
(25:48):
Waiting is a hopeful expectanttrust.
Micah and David and I, in twoseparate times, had the delight
of hiking the Grand Canyon, andso when I was reading about the
Grand Canyon trips, I read abook called Death in the Grand
Canyon.
I don't recommend reading thatbook before you hike the Grand
(26:10):
Canyon, but it talked about oneof the episodes in which the
Bright Angel Creek or river I'mnot sure what it's called was
flooding into the Colorado andjust a wash of mud and earth and
stone came tumbling down thecanyon and was wiping out the
Bright Angel trailhead and alsothe campground that was there,
and some people clambered uponto some rocks as the waters
(26:34):
rushed around them and as theyrose and they rose, and they
rose, they were wondering ifthey were in the safe spot, but
thankfully they were.
Sadly others weren't, but whenthey were sitting there, with
the torrents of mud and earthand water raging beside them and
around them on this highterritory, all they could do was
(26:55):
think of the security of thespot that they were in and hope
that it stayed strong.
If you were to put this wordwaiting, into that, it would be
that what are you waiting on?
I'm waiting on this rock tokeep me firm.
What is waiting on the Lordmean?
(27:16):
I'm relying on him to keep mefirm.
It's not a time question, it'sa trust matter.
And the promises here that arejust wonderful and seemingly
backwards.
We go from soaring into theskies to running with strength,
(27:37):
to walking with endurance.
You would think, isaiah, yougot this backwards.
We should be walking, running,flying, not flying, running,
running, flying, not flying,running, walking.
But I think it's a greatpicture.
What does he say about this,this comfort that he gives to us
(27:57):
?
First of all, we'll mount upwith wings like eagles.
Eagles don't escape storms.
They find the updraft and movethrough them into higher places,
and what we receive is aspiritual updraft that brings us
through the storms of life toplaces of peace and serenity,
and God's strength can carry usabove the circumstances that are
(28:20):
dragging us down.
Run and not be weary.
We're given strength for a longrace.
Be weary.
We're given strength for a longrace.
The people in exile here it'sgoing to be 70 years before they
get out of this.
Did you hear that?
(28:42):
70 years?
That's a long time.
Their hardships are going to belifelong for most, all of them.
There's going to be no escape.
For them.
It's going to be a long,winding, relentless road of
captivity in the hands of theBabylonians, but God promises
them not release but the abilityto run right through it all,
(29:08):
every one of those 70 years.
Jesus ran this race.
The writer of Hebrews said thathis life ended in death, but he
kept his eye forward and for thejoy that was set before him, he
endured the cross, despisingthe shame.
(29:29):
He knew what was ahead andyou'll walk and not faint.
There are a lot of times inlife when you don't feel like
you're soaring and there's a lotof times when you don't think
you could ever run.
Most days are really justsimply days of walking, aren't
they?
And perhaps you're walkingright now through something an
(29:54):
agonizing loss, a grindingdivorce, a painful disease, the
monotony of an ever repetitivelife of folding laundry and
attending appointments andshaping children and cooking
dinners.
But here's the promise monotonyof an ever repetitive life of
folding laundry and attendingappointments and shaping
children and cooking dinners.
But here's the promise Even ifyou don't feel like you're
(30:16):
soaring, even if you don't feellike you're running, you can
walk and not faint.
God can sustain you step bystep.
He can take you through all theheadwinds of your hardships,
through all the mind-numbingmonotony of your mundane moments
(30:39):
.
He can take you through them.
And so what we're left with hereis really an implicit call to
trust.
And that's what we're going toleave with here this challenge
and this call to trust.
We've looked at the complaint,we've looked at the character of
(31:01):
God, we looked at the comfortto the trusting, and he's
bringing it home to them and tous.
Are you going to continue andeventually collapse under the
weight of your own strength?
Are you going to put yourselfin the hands of someone who else
has strength far beyond yourown?
You see, the source of thatstrength is not within us.
(31:25):
We don't survive this lifesimply by our grit and our
willpower and our positivity.
And Christianity is not grit orwillpower or positivity, even
if some smiling guy from Houstontells you it is, you don't need
(31:46):
to dig deeper, you just need tolook higher, right, you need to
dig deeper.
You just need to look higher,right, you need to look up.
Like Isaiah says here look up.
And the recipients of thatstrength are not self-made
people, they're self-awarepeople.
God is the one who gives thepower.
(32:06):
He's not here to sort ofcongratulate the proud performer
.
He wants to meet the faint andthe failing and the falling and
provide something they don'thave.
And the way to receive it isnot through self-reformation,
(32:27):
it's through surrender,collapsing into the arms of God,
who says that he gives grace tothe humble but resists the
proud.
And that's not a threat, that'san invitation.
He gives grace to the humble,it's a call to humility, it's an
invitation to receive.
(32:48):
You talk to a lifeguard, and oneof the things that they'll do
when they go to rescue someonewho's drowning is wait for them
to quit fighting, because ifthey grab a hold of someone
who's full of strength and fight, they could be a victim too.
And what they need for thatdrowning person is to quit
trying to save themselves so thelifeguard can take them to
(33:14):
safety.
And here the Lord is telling usstop fighting, stop trying to
save yourself, stop trying todig deeper into yourself.
Look to him.
Look to him when you havenothing, when you can offer
nothing.
Lift up your eyes.
Lift up your eyes, let go ofyour strength and lay down your
(33:40):
pride.
Let's draw this to a close.
God's not promising themimmediate escape here Like I
said, it's 70 years in exile inBabylon but he did promise them
something better His sustainingpresence.
It's no wonder that the NewTestament calls the world system
(34:07):
Babylon.
It's no wonder that the NewTestament calls the world system
Babylon, because in some wayswe're in the midst of enemy
territory, a world system thatis contrary to the ways of God,
the embodiment in a city of theworld, the flesh and the devil
(34:29):
Wrapped up in human construct.
But here's the hope he cansustain us, so much so that we
could feel sometimes like we'resoaring, many times like we're
running and always like we'rewalking.
So if you're a believer, thismorning, your weariness and your
(34:51):
weakness, they're not failures,they're not.
And God is not going to walkaway and say you're done.
He's inviting you to somethingbetter, to a cry, not because he
(35:13):
wanted them just to be betteror to say that their pain was
not valid, but because, withcompassion, he looked upon the
crowds as sheep without ashepherd, and he brought himself
to the cross for us, not justto be alongside of us, but to
(35:36):
forgive us, so that he would beable to promise us I will never,
no, never, not, ever forsakeyou, and so that he might bring
us into the place where our eyeswill be forever dry, where
there'll be no tears, where theformer things will have passed
away, where the new creationexists forever, never, ever
(35:59):
wants to be mitigated in all ofits splendor and glory.
And so those eyes that weptoutside Lazarus' tomb beckon us
to come to him.
If you're not a believer, youdon't yet know the Lord Jesus as
your Savior.
Jesus is not offering you areligion.
(36:21):
He's offering you rest for yoursoul.
He's not demanding yourstrength.
What he's calling for is yourhonesty about yourself.
He's not asking you to bring aresume either.
(36:41):
He doesn't want to see how wellput together you are.
He wants you to surrenderyourself as you are to him, in
the full acknowledgement of yoursin and your disobedience and
the lack of any deserve toreceive any blush of his mercy.
(37:02):
He says come to me, because tothe weary he gives strength.
To the weary he gives strength,and to the broken he gives
grace, and to those who waitupon him he gives wings.
So lift up your eyes.
Lift up your eyes and look to aGod who is eternal, a God who
(37:27):
created all things, a God whosestrength never flags, a God
who's wise beyond your wildestimaginations, and a God who is
far more good and gracious thanwe could ever deserve.
Look up and see.
Let's pray.
Look up and see, let's pray.
(37:54):
Father, as we bow our heartsbefore the splendor of your word
, we have to say, father, thatour souls are filled with awe
and wonder over who you are,that these words could be
breathed into our every day,that this is a revelation of
your person, that's aninvitation that we don't deserve
(38:17):
to hear or to receive, but it'sgot our very name inscribed on
it.
There's no God like you.
There's no God like you, andthere's no one we should give
(38:37):
ourself, but you, father.
I pray that each of us here,whatever place we are in our
spiritual condition, might hearthe wonderful welcome of your
word, as you spoke to people somany hundreds of miles away from
home, distant from placesfamiliar to them, with the buzz
(39:03):
of strange languages and customsand food surrounding them,
where their hearts cried outwith accusation that you had
forgotten them.
And yet you spoke peace andcomfort and strength and mercy
and supply.
Father, when our hearts aretempted to do the same, we ask,
(39:26):
lord, that you might remind usto come back here, to you and to
this revelation of yourself, sothat we might look up and see a
God who is great and a God whois full of grace.
And we pray this in Christ'sname Amen.
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