Isaiah 55:6-9 - Seek the LORD while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that He may have compassion on him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon. For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.
I am so glad that God's thoughts are not my thoughts, and His ways are higher than mine! Imagine what the world would be like if I were god. No, forget that—that's a nightmare. I'm sorry I put that image in your head. Erase, erase, erase!
Seriously, we need a God who is greater than us. We need a God who is so wise, He can see the messes we get ourselves into, and all our evils, and figure out a way to rescue us. We need a God who is so great He can care about us, living on this tiny planet in this huge universe, and still care about the details of our daily lives. We need a God who is so loving He will come into our world to become a human being like us—and that's exactly what we've got.
It's not what I would have invented as a god. I'm not that creative. Imagine a God who comes to us in weakness and dependency, a tiny baby crying in a manger? Not me. Choose a God who knows what it's like to be homeless and footsore, who works long hours healing and teaching, who lives His life always looking over His shoulder, knowing that His enemies will get Him in the end? Believe in a God who lays down His life in shame and nakedness, hanging on a cross between two criminals? Who would come up with that?
But who doesn't need that?—because that's the way that Jesus rescued us from the powers of sin, death, and the devil. His pain becomes our healing, and His shame becomes our glory. Because of what He has done, we who trust in Him are now welcomed as children of God Himself; and because Jesus has risen from the dead, we know that we, too, will live forever with Him. We couldn't have imagined it, but God did—and carried it out, because He loved us. That is our salvation.
WE PRAY: Dear Father, I'm glad Your thoughts are higher than my thoughts—and Your love for us is past imagining. Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Kari Vo.
Reflection Questions:
1. Name one thing God has created that you find surprising.
2. What is one thing God did in the Bible that you wouldn't have expected?
3. What is one thing God has done in your life that puts you in awe—of His creativity, His wisdom, or His love?
Today's Bible Readings: Isaiah 23-25 Ephesians 5:17-23
To Download Devotion MP3 to your computer, right click here and select "Save Link As" or "Save Target As" or "Download Linked File As"