Create a peaceful space to pause, and allow yourself to feel God’s presence alongside you, as near to you as your own breath. In following the reflection below, as a church we will draw closer to God and to one another as we grow in faith and deepen our sense of belonging to God.
Isaiah 40 (selected verses)
12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand
and marked off the heavens with a span,
enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure,
and weighed the mountains in scales
and the hills in a balance?
18 To whom then will you liken God,
or what likeness compare with him?
21 Have you not known? Have you not heard?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
22 It is he who sits above the circle of the earth,
and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers;
who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
and spreads them like a tent to live in;
25 To whom then will you compare me,
or who is my equal? says the Holy One.
26 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;
because he is great in strength,
mighty in power, not one is missing.
28 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.
When it comes to wonderful prose and poetic descriptions, no book comes anywhere near the prophet Isaiah. His tremendous visions of God and what lay in store with the glory for God’s people is plain to understand. He prophesied for over 40 years, initially falling on deaf ears. A visionary who never forgot when he was called by God in Chapter 6, to preach God’s righteousness and his longing to forgive.
Each time I read verses Chapter 40, some of which are quoted above, I am reminded of when I was at the top of a mountain in Switzerland on a clear day, and I could see miles of beautiful scenery or, more recently, of a sunrise over Langney Point.
We all know of areas of the countryside built upon, upsetting the natural ecosystem. Greed, pride and self-importance often get in the way. Today, science and evolution seem to take precedence over God’s creation. But when we think of the creation stories in the book of Genesis we are not told when or how God brought life into being. Isaiah, however, leaves us in no doubt of the majesty of creation, that we are custodians of it with its natural life and death cycles for us and the natural world. We are reminded by the media of the squalor and misery in which so many live, far distant from the ideals of the Garden of Eden.
God’s words of Isaiah, verse 29 ‘He strengthens those who are weak and tired’, and Hosea who reminds all of us ‘How can I give you up Israel, how can I abandon you? My heart will not let me do it. My love for you is too strong.’ (11:8), What reassurance to remember, as we go through life!
Prayer:
We thank for Lord for the wonder of your creation, that you did so for our contentment, prosperity and enjoyment. Help us to share it with others so that your glory may shine.
We pray for those who are less fortunate than us, that they may know you as their friend and saviour. In Jesus name we ask it, Amen.
Reflection and Prayer © 2021 Matthew Earl.
Images freely available online.
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