Thoughts for the Day

To whom then will you compare me,
or who is my equal? says the Holy One.
Lift up your eyes on high and see:
Who created these?
He who brings out their host
and numbers them,
calling them all by name...

Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the faint,
and strengthens the powerless.
Even youths will faint and be weary,
and the young will fall exhausted;
but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength,
they shall mount up with wings like eagles,
they shall run and not be weary,
they shall walk and not faint.

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

For the Israelite exiles in 6th century BCE the Babylonian New Year brought problems. The Babylonians had their own story of the creation of the world, and for the first time in ten years (because of internal strife) their chief god Marduk (a sun god) was celebrated extensively. Many of the exiles wondered whether the Babylonian god was more powerful than Yahweh* (God), and they began to doubt His power and wisdom. But Isaiah argued otherwise.

Today is no different, Christians are faced with multiple religions and cultures, and those who can explain everything about the world without God. Isaiah has declared (Isaiah 40.12) that a creator who is powerful enough to hold the mountains in His hand, put the earth in place, and name the stars must be larger than the universe. Unlike the Babylonian gods Yahweh is not a part of the universe He has made.

For Isaiah, and for us, Yahweh is everlasting, there is no time when He did not exist, He has always been active and involved with the creation He designed. He is all-powerful and has wisdom beyond anything we can know. Yet despite this He wants to give us strength and understanding, and when we wait patiently before Him He will renew us!

* Yahweh is based on the consonants YHWH, which is one of the names for God used in the Old Testament. In ancient Hebrew, the vowels were not normally written.

Almighty God, Heavenly Father,
Yahweh, Jehovah -
we know You by all these names
as the One God who designed all things.
When life is difficult
and our faith seems small,
help us not to concentrate on our woes
but to wait patiently on You in joyful hope,
that You will show us the part we can play
in this great design of Yours,
knowing that You will give us the strength
to continue.
Amen.