Verse of the Week: Isaiah 46:8

Last weekend during the Watershed Retreat (which by the way was fantastic), we got one hour on Saturday morning to spend in the Scriptures. We had 6 different passages we could read and journal through and I chose Isaiah 46.

The first 7 verses, God discusses two topics: idols and loving care. God uses "mothering language" in terms of his love for his people. Just as people will carry and support a newborn, God does that for us through our old age - meaning he is always with us caring for us. He made us, so he support us.

Then God mocks the idea of idols - "gods" fashioned from gold or wood that simply sit on a shelf doing nothing. In contrast, God is active and moving, working on behalf of those who love Him and bow before Him.

And then verse 8 drops in to our reading gaze. I love how the NET Bible translates the first half of the verse:

"Remember this, so you can be brave!"

Remember THIS: That God is with you, caring for you, every day of your life - He made you, He supports you. Remember that He is not like an idol who sits still and is useless - He is active, moving, working on your behalf.

Keep in mind this was originally written to people in exile - they weren't in the best of circumstances. In fact, it probably sucked (sorry, this is the unedited version today...), but they could be brave because God is God. As the next verse says, He has no peer - there is none like Him. And so they could stand firm (as the ESV puts it).

I was so moved by this passage of Scripture that I used it to start the prayer time in the worship services at New Covenant's 46th St. Campus. Someone who heard it on Sunday called my house and left a message saying that she was so moved by the verse that she shared it with 2 other people. Then someone else asked to be reminded of where the passage was found again because their daughter needed to hear that verse. Then I sent it to a friend whose family is caught up in the midst of the political crisis in Chad, Africa and he shared it with family and blogged about the verse. Then I shared it with a gal Thursday night who is in intense pain in her shoulder and is looking at surgery in the next 3 weeks.

It seems that everywhere I've turned all week I've either heard how this verse has ministered to someone or has needed to be shared to be ministered to someone. It seems to be the verse of the week right now.

And so for you: what circumstance do you find yourself in where you have fear or doubts? Remember that God is God, He loves you, He knows you, He is for you, and He is actively working around you. So you can be brave.

"What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?" (Romans 8:31-32 - NIV)