Thurs.’s Devo - God Is With Us

Read: Isaiah 41:17-43:13; Ephesians 2:1-22; Psalm 67:1-7; Proverbs 23:29-35 God promised that when his children got thirsty that he would supernaturally give them water. He would turn the desert into a a fruitful land. God sent out a challenge to the people who worshipped idols. He asked them what about the future did their idols tell them. He challenged them to do something miraculous if they could. He proved that they had no power. God would sir up a leader who would come from the north and call on his name. God would give him power to subdue the other nations. He reminded them that none of their idols predicted this. He was speaking of Cyrus that would appear on the scene in 150 years. God would put His Spirit on him and he would bring justice to the nations. He would not stop fighting until he had accomplished his task. He would be a fight to God’s people as a symbol of His covenant with them. Trump was a modern day Cyrus that God raised up to defend God’s people both in the US and in Israel. God told his people to sing a new song, not one of sorrow and mourning but of praises and joy. Our praises precede God’s hand. Then God would march for like a mighty hero and a warrior full of fury. He would shout his battle cry and crush his enemies. He would lead Israel down a new path back home. His people who had been slaves to other nations would once again come back to Jerusalem. God gives us this promise: when we go through deep waters, God will be with us. When we go through rivers of difficulty, we will not down. When we walk through the fire of oppression, we will not be burned up. God predicted their escape from bondage and none of their idols told them it would happen. God was trying to let them know that he was all they needed. He was their Saviour. Paul tried to tell them the same thing. He names the idols of the Old Testament as all being under Satan. He is the commanders of the powers in the unseen world, they spirit at work in the hearts of the unbelievers. We were his followers by nature, but we have been redeemed by God’s rich mercy to follow Christ and be seated with him in the heavenly realms. God saved us by his grace and has good things for us to do that he planned long ago. God brought the Jew and the Gentile together as one people. We as Gentiles are now a part of God’s covenant promises to the Jews. We are one body.