Good morning,
‘You are my servant. ’ For I have chosen you and will not throw you away. (Isa. 41:9)
Isaiah was a faithful prophet who lived in a day and time very much like our own. As the Lord was talking with Isaiah about what was going on in the world around him, God asked him a very interesting question. God said, Who has done such mighty deeds, summoning each new generation from the beginning of time? God knows that each of us are really here for only a short time in the grand plan that God has for time here on earth. At best we only have a very sketchy idea of what God is doing now and how our history will develop based on the short stories of what has gone on for the thousands of years before we arrived. We do have the Bible that gives us at least 5,000 years of history, but it’s very easy to forget who was in charge of what happened. If we leave the Bible out of the picture and begin to believe our fears and the father of lies, we live with a feeling of foolish confidence in the good times and hopeless despair in the bad times. So God reminded Isaiah, It is I, the Lord, the First and the Last. I alone am he.” (Isa. 41:4) God made it clear that he was the only God, and his plan always wins out.
Then God told Isaiah where his family of faith fits into the bigger picture of what he is doing. He said, ‘You are my servant. ’ For I have chosen you and will not throw you away. God makes it very clear that we are a part of his family and a part of his plan by design and not by accident. We didn’t choose him first. He chose us first and then at the right time we responded to his choice by putting our faith in his promised son, the Messiah. He knew how dependable we would be and he is not swayed in his opinion of us even though the accuser of his children loves to bring up how sinful we still are in our service to our Master. That’s why he had to say, Don’t be afraid or discouraged. We keep forgetting that we are surrounded by enemies around us as well as the accuser mocking us internally who will do their best to get us to look at ourselves instead of the Good Shepherd who will never leave us or forsake us. He knows we are weak, but he has eternal strength. He knows that we will often feel defeated, but he is right there offering to hold us with his victorious right hand. Please Lord, help us to remember who you are, who is in charge of the outcome, and how willing you are to hold our hand.
Isaiah 41:9 I have called you back from the ends of the earth, saying, ‘You are my servant. ’ For I have chosen you and will not throw you away. 10 Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.
Roy Wisner
