Isaiah 40: Part 5 — A ‘Time With God’ Audio Devotion

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Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.

A voice of one calling: “In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain.
And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

A voice says, “Cry out.” 
And I said, “What shall I cry?”

“All people are like grass, and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field.
The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the Lord blows on them.
Surely the people are grass.
The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.”

Isaiah 40:1-8

Transcript

Well, good morning and welcome to Friday.

And as we get into this Friday, I just want you to think about what’s happening in your life right now. For some people, things are great, awesome things are happening in their lives right now. I think probably for many of us though, there’s some tough times going on in our lives right now, and life can be pretty stressful.

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There’s a lot of uncertainty about what’s happening economically and with our jobs and with our finances. There’s stress in life, isn’t there, even without those issues, there’s a lot of stress in life, and I wonder if you feel a little bit tired in life. A bit stressed out. Weary. Like you need some extra strength.

Listen to what God has to say to us today. I just love going to the Bible. Whether I’m feeling great, and I want to see what the Bible has to say about that, or whether I’m struggling and stressed and exhausted and overworked and I need to see what God has for me in that situation.

The Bible is just so relevant to our lives. It always has something meaningful to say to us, and the reason the Bible has something meaningful to say to us is because it’s God’s Word.

It’s God who has something to say to us through the Bible, and one of the best practices you could ever put into your life is just taking a little time every morning to open your Bible and say, God, would you speak to me? And then start reading and see what God wants to reveal to you.

Here’s our few verses for today out of Isaiah chapter 40, which we’ve been in all week.

Why do you say, O Jacob, and assert O Israel, my way is hidden from the Lord. And the justice do me escapes the notice of my God. God didn’t notice.

Do you not know? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable.

It’s beyond us to figure out the way that God thinks. His understanding so far beyond us. Just think about God. If all power is God’s, do you think God gets weary? Do you think God gets tired? Oh, of course not. He has just as much power at the end of creating the universe as he does at the beginning.

But then listen to what it says. Listen to how that bears on our lives.

He gives strength to the weary. And to him who lacks might God increases power. Though youths grow weary and tired…

Right? I mean, we might expect older people to grow weary and tired, but if times are bad enough that even young people are getting weary and tired and vigorous young men stumble badly.

Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength.

Where do you think that strength is coming from? It’s from God. He gives strength to the weary, it says. Those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength. They will mount up with wings like eagles.

The great thing about eagles mounting up is they lock their wings. They use the wind’s power. It’s God’s strength that will enable you to mount up with wings as eagles. They will run and not get tired. They will walk and not become weary.

Listen to me.

The answer to the struggles of life is not found within you. It’s found within God.

And you need to work on your relationship with God and putting God first in your life. And if you don’t have a living relationship with God, you need to get one, through a relationship with Jesus Christ.

But you need God in these days, I think you know that.

I’m John North.

To go deeper in your faith, visit AFCI.com.au.

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