Incomparable

This week, we are talking about how we can express extraordinary faith by reading through some of the passages Tim meditated on during the more challenging parts of his journey. Over the next two days, we are going to look at two passages from Isaiah. Isaiah was a prophet that lived and ministered in Jerusalem from 740-690 B.C. He tried to help the nation of Judah remain dependent on God and to trust God despite the political changes happening on all around them ... first the Assyrians and then the Babylonians. The first 39 chapters expound on the consequences they will face for turning against God. Chapter 40 is the turning point where Isaiah begins to talk about what God will do after the consequences ... the restoration and deliverance He will provide. In this section, Isaiah poses a series of rhetorical questions meant to challenge the people of Judah ... can God save them? As you read, consider these questions in comparison to the struggle or challenge or decision you face.


Isaiah 40:12-31
12 Who else has held the oceans in his hand? Who has measured off the heavens with his fingers? Who else knows the weight of the earth or has weighed the mountains and hills on a scale?
13 Who is able to advise the Spirit of the Lord? Who knows enough to give him advice or teach him?
14 Has the Lord ever needed anyone’s advice? Does he need instruction about what is good? Did someone teach him what is right or show him the path of justice?
15 No, for all the nations of the world are but a drop in the bucket. They are nothing more than dust on the scales. He picks up the whole earth as though it were a grain of sand.
16 All the wood in Lebanon’s forests and all Lebanon’s animals would not be enough to make a burnt offering worthy of our God.
17 The nations of the world are worth nothing to him. In his eyes they count for less than nothing - mere emptiness and froth.
18 To whom can you compare God? What image can you find to resemble him?
19 Can he be compared to an idol formed in a mold, overlaid with gold, and decorated with silver chains?
20 Or if people are too poor for that, they might at least choose wood that won’t decay and a skilled craftsman to carve an image that won’t fall down!
21 Haven’t you heard? Don’t you understand? Are you deaf to the words of God - the words he gave before the world began? Are you so ignorant?
22 God sits above the circle of the earth. The people below seem like grasshoppers to him! He spreads out the heavens like a curtain and makes his tent from them.
23 He judges the great people of the world and brings them all to nothing.
24 They hardly get started, barely taking root, when he blows on them and they wither. The wind carries them off like chaff.
25 “To whom will you compare me? Who is my equal?” asks the Holy One.
26 Look up into the heavens. Who created all the stars? He brings them out like an army, one after another, calling each by its name. Because of his great power and incomparable strength, not a single one is missing.
27 O Jacob, how can you say the Lord does not see your troubles? O Israel, how can you say God ignores your rights?
28 Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding.
29 He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless.
30 Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion.
31 But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.


Incomparable. It is easy to have faith in God when life is good. It is harder to have faith in God when life is overwhelming or unfair. Extraordinary faith is developed in those seasons of life. That is why I love the word incomparable in this passage. It’s almost as if Isaiah is daring you to compare your circumstances to God ... His knowledge, His justice, His worthiness, His power, His strength, His understanding, His endurance. Don’t take my word for it. Don’t take Isaiah’s word for it. Compare for yourself. I think you will find that God is incomparable.