Only God is God.

“I, I am the LORD,

and besides me there is no savior.

I declared and saved and proclaimed,

when there was no strange god among you;

and you are my witnesses,” declares the LORD, “and I am God.”

Isaiah 43:11-12

God knows who He is. Do we? God is the Lord of all things. He is in control. We must submit under His rule. Will we? God is the provider of salvation. He always has been. In Jesus we have a mighty and complete Savior. Will we trust Him?

God’s Word has been declared. God has spoken the very universe by His breath. His Word sustains it all. Will we hear Him and believe Him? His Word brings saving truth to us. He speaks, He saves, He shares His good news of salvation. Will we be bearers of this great news to those around us so that the world can know that Jesus saves? There is only one Savior. There is only one hope. There is only one God. 

Only God is God. There is none other. We may be tempted to worship many other things. We make idols of His creation. These things were meant to draw us to Him and yet we will worship them. We may seek to find comfort, pleasure, fulfillment, or direction solely from other people, other places, other experiences, or other things we can touch, have or feel. But in the end we will be dissatisfied and broken if we fail to accept that only God is God.

Lord God,

Only You are God. Only Jesus is my Savior. Only You are Lord over this life. Forgive my wandering from this reality. Forgive my attempts to take control. Forgive my idolatrous worship of what You have made instead of worshiping You alone. You have declared Your Word. I believe it. You have saved me. I believe You and trust Jesus. You have proclaimed Yourself my Lord and my God. I submit in faith and trust in You.

Amen

God of the new

Sing to the LORD a new song,

his praise from the end of the earth

Isaiah 42:10a

God of the new

I sing of You.

Your power and might

have ended the night.

You’ve made a new day

in Your own loving way.

God of the new

my praise shouts to You.

A brand new grace

I see in Your face.

The old has gone.

The new has come.

God of the new

I worship only You.

Strength and power

arrived in my needy hour.

Your Word I will heed

as You always meet my need.

God of the new

You’ve seen me through

trials and pain

are now healed again.

Amazed I proclaim

the wonders of Your name.

God of the new

I sing to You.

You calmed my fear

by drawing so near.

New life I see

in what You have given to me.

God of the new

this song is for You.

My praises I bring

with lips that gladly sing

of a Father’s good love

poured over me from above.

God’s promises are greater than fear.

…fear not, for I am with you;

be not dismayed, for I am your God;

I will strengthen you, I will help you,

I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Isaiah 41:10

The most repeated command in all of scripture is some variation of “fear not”. God knows how anxious our souls can become. He knows how fear, worry, sorrow, and pain can combine in a toxic cocktail that can sicken our souls, weaken our strength, and diminish our faith. And so He commands us not to fear.

But such a command by itself becomes almost ludicrous. Telling an anxious person “do not fear” is like telling a baby to stop crying! Anxiety is not logical and feels uncontrollable. There is not a switch to turn off. It is a condition — a set of circumstances — to understand, manage, review, and contemplate. That is why although there are two commands (do not fear; be not dismayed) in this verse, there are also five promises. And it is in these five promises that we find the power to obey the commands.

Do not fear. Why? “I am with you.” God is with us in our anxious moments. He is beside us in our fear and anxiety. He is in the midst of our bewildering and scary circumstances. We often fear what we think we face alone. But good theology reminds us that God is present and powerful with us at all times!

Don’t be anxious. Why? “I am your God.” The character and the power and the person of God are all “ours”! God is our God. The Creator of the universe is with us… is for us…is our God… is right here with us in all that we know and face in life.This is the perspective that will diminish dismay and extinguish anxiety.

And God promises to support us in three ways: 

“I will strengthen you.” — He resources us to be stronger than what we fear.

“I will help you.” — He provides assistance beyond what we can find when limited by our fear.

“I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” — He backs us up, embraces us, puts His strong arm around us so what we fear never ends in failure.

Thank You, Lord! I don’t have to be anxious or afraid! You are with me. You are my God. You are for me. You are my strength. You are my help. You hold me up. I will not fear. I will not be dismayed.

Amen

the God I’ve known and heard

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.

Isaiah 40:28

O Lord God,

I come to You humbly with these reminders of the God I worship and I need. These truths move me to worship. They put my heart in its proper place. I bow down to a God more glorious than anything or anyone I think would make me happy. I pray to a Person Who knows and loves me more than any human lover ever possibly could. I cling to a Savior stronger than my inabilities. I learn from a Mind unsearchable in Your wisdom and understanding.

Lord, You are my everlasting God. This year I have become frightfully all too aware of the fragility of mortality. I’ve seen the flower of life’s bloom suddenly fade, wither, and die in the body of the person I’ve loved most in this world. I’ve grieved, O how deeply my soul has in brokenness grieved, at the transience of all things. I’ve even for a season lost the gusto of action and activities and relationships that I once thought were so important to my happiness in life. In all this I’ve had nobody else who truly understands but You! I’ve thrown myself into the arms of Your care, my everlasting God! I too am made of this flaking, dying dust. But You are my hope O God! You are everlasting. You are God.

Dear God, You are my Creator and have placed me exactly where You want me to thrive in Your universe. I could be anywhere in the ends of the earth You’ve made, and yet here I am… alive now… relating where You want… to whom You want… for Your glory… along with all creation I serve Your purpose!

Mighty God, You are my strength. You have lifted up my weary, grieving, broken soul. You have restored my shattered perspective with a grace-filled new perspective. You have been my Provider of true joy.

You provide my understanding, wise and patient Father. And as I seek to follow You, my Lord, cultivating new life in new directions alongside my family, my old friends, and my new friends, I will praise the Lord Who knows what I need, loves me, saves me, and always sustains me for His glory!

Amen

glory revealed

And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed,

and all flesh shall see it together,

for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

Isaiah 40:5

A day was prophesied that the glory of the LORD would be revealed to all the world. And in Jesus this has happened! The glory of God came to dwell among us in human skin. God was enfleshed. The Lord of heaven incarnate to make God’s glory known,  lived with us, walked among us, talked to us, loved and laughed and cried and sang alongside us, all to bring us to a new relationship with the Father Who sent His Son so we could be made new again by His Holy Spirit.

The glory of the Lord HAS been revealed. And I see Him at work shining in me and all His people even now. The gospel story shines in glory in the church as Christians seek to live like Jesus and proclaim His saving gospel into a dark world. The message of salvation in Jesus is the glory of the Lord revealed. The church is where that glory shines. God’s people are called to reveal His glory in a world that is blind to God’s greatness and holiness.

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” 

John 1:14

Jesus,

You are the glory of the Lord now revealed! You are grace and truth. We see Your glory. We know it. And may we worship and proclaim You with every day that we have to do so!

Amen

glorious, majestic God

Glorious are you, more majestic

than the mountains full of prey.

Psalm 76:4

G - Giving You my praise

L - Living for Your fame

O - Only You are God

R - Reigning over all the world

I - Invincible in power

O - owning everything… everyone

U - Universal King

S - Sovereign in actions and events

M - My God, my Savior, my Lord

A - Always faithful Word

J - Jehovah Jireh, Jesus Christ

E - Exalted above all gods

S - Strong to save your people

T - Triumphant in battle

I - Incredible Deliverer in need

C - Cosmic Controller of our destiny 

G - Grateful creation cries to You

O - Omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient God

D - Destroyer of death through eternal life

My God,

These thoughts of You lift my soul with immeasurable hope. You are more majestic than any earthly experience. And You love me, keep me, care for me. I will always praise Your name.

Amen

waters, streams, pools, and springs

For waters break forth in the wilderness,

and streams in the desert;

the burning sand shall become a pool,

and the thirsty ground springs of water;

in the haunt of jackals, where they lie down,

the grass shall become reeds and rushes.

Isaiah 35:6b-7

This wilderness stretches as far as I can see;

Miles and miles of dry rocks before me.

Yet water flows from rock in this dry land;

Unleashed by the grace of God’s loving hand.

A desert wasteland seems barren and dry;

I wonder how long until I die.

Pausing to wonder what all this heat and pain can mean

I am rewarded with the wonder of a cool, flowing stream.

Beneath my feet is burning sand —

The depth of dryness in this land

is punishing, pain-filled, hard, and cruel

yet You, Lord, pour out a refreshing pool.

This thirsty ground… this desperate man

cries out to God with all that I am:

“Quench me, Lord! It’s all that matters!”

…and up explodes Your springs of water!

Desert jackals growl and cry;

Even my own soul will whimper and sigh.

But then cracked, broken ground which once was mean

is turned lush and reedy, verdant and green!

I now know, Lord, that deserts bloom

with Your healing touch You make room

for refreshing waters, flowing streams;

My wilderness is no longer what it seems.