We live in a world of multi-layered confusion. “Like the blind we grope along the wall, feeling our way like people without eyes.” (Isaiah 59:10) So many in and out of church ask questions about our origins, identities, purpose, and calling.
And yet a greater Truth proceeds the resounding “what about me” question.
It is the eternal matter of I Am—the God who was.
The Ancient of days.
Before the foundation of the world.
In the beginning.
These words shift me. Much like standing on the shore to look out over a vast ocean, I am simultaneously overwhelmed with God’s bigness and my own smallness.
Whatever my life may mean, or hope to mean, whatever my list of needs or weaknesses or desires, whatever deep joy or grief I may experience, there is One who is long before me and long after. There is One whose power is plainly seen daily and whose love is revealed to any open heart.
When we read Isaiah 59 fully we see our great sin and wandering. But the chapter begins and ends with the hope of our Ever Existing, Ever Interceding, Ever Saving God.
1Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear.
21“As for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the Lord.
“My Spirit, who is on you, will not depart from you,
and my words that I have put in your mouth will always be on your lips,
on the lips of your children and on the lips of their descendants
—from this time on and forever,” says the Lord.
As we approach the Christmas season, with its built-in distractions and stresses, let’s pause and breathe in the comfort of The God Who Was.
Enjoy Him in these moments of worship.