Series: New New
Isaiah 42:8-9 ESV
Exodus 3:14 ESV
Isaiah 42:5-9 MSG
John 14:6 ESV
The first time I worked on an assembly line I thought I’d lose my mind.
I’ve always been a crazy creative thinking person. Even as a child when there was chaos I saw patterns…a way out of the chaos. The goal then (and the goal now) was to a quiet place. It was a place of peace and rest.
I did not really know what that place was until I turned nine years old.
That was the year I turned to God.
In my dreams God came to me and offered me His hand.
Until then I had a hope of peace but I didn’t understand where it was or how to get there.
The Spirit of God opened the door that year and I saw the light.
Isaiah 42:8-9 wrote, “I am the Lord; that is my name;
my glory I give to no other,
nor my praise to carved idols.
Behold, the former things have come to pass,
and new things I now declare;
before they spring forth I tell you of them.”
Isaiah’s words more than tell a story of what is…they tell us what is to come.
This is a beautiful passage because it tells a story of I AM.
The first time we are told of I AM was in Exodus 3:14, “God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’”
I AM is an all important statement because it is eternal, definitive, and it unlocks the key for man.
I AM the only God.
I AM the one you seek.
I AM truth.
The list goes on and on because I AM is everything.
When I was nine years old and the peace of I AM became part of me I knew somehow everything was okay and would be okay.
As an adult I learned that I AM knew everything and I AM could solve any problem.
When I was afraid, i turned to I AM to look for the answer. The peace was there. The light pointing me to the answer was there. When I was confused I AM made the way clear and safe. I’m not sure why but ‘safe’ was always important to me. With I AM I was covered and have always been protected.
The Message from Isaiah 42:5-9 says, “God’s Message, the God who created the cosmos, stretched out the skies, laid out the earth and all that grows from it,
Who breathes life into earth’s people, makes them alive with his own life:
“I am God. I have called you to live right and well.
I have taken responsibility for you, kept you safe.
I have set you among my people to bind them to me, and provided you as a lighthouse to the nations,
To make a start at bringing people into the open, into light: opening blind eyes, releasing prisoners from dungeons, emptying the dark prisons.
I am God. That’s my name.
I don’t franchise my glory, don’t endorse the no-god idols.
Take note: The earlier predictions of judgment have been fulfilled.
I’m announcing the new salvation work.
Before it bursts on the scene,
I’m telling you all about it.”
And so we are given the answer and the charge.
The message to the nations is that those who are caught in the darkness need the light.
When Jesus came He made the path to the light clear.
The most remarkable thing is that we do not need to ‘figure out’ the way. All we need to do is turn to Jesus who IS the way.
In John 14:6 Jesus proclaimed, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
When I was nine years old I realized THE Jesus I had read about in my Bible book was the one who had been showing me the way, telling me the truth, and offering me eternal life had been protecting me waiting for me to lean on Him.
I knew then Jesus would calm any storm in my life. Matthew 8:23-27 says, “And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.”And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?”
I’m not sure, but I think the storm in my life was related to people I’d been around who disagree and also the physical aspect of a tornado (I did grow up in tornado alley and we spent a lot of time in the basement.) Jesus calming the storm was really important to me.
I think Jesus gave me the ability to see funny things even in the midst of chaos. It is a gift.
That turned out to be God’s greatest tool in calming my storms.
Spiritual Practice: Turn fear into laughter
Ask God to help you learn to laugh the next time you feel uncertain about the outcome.
In God, Deborah
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