Does it ever occur to us that God really wants to know how it is going in our lives from our perspective?  Does God really want to know how things are going in the details our daily lives?  Is He really concerned with what we think about what is going on around us and in us?  Is He concerned with how we feel?  Does he really want to hear it?

When we see friends on the street, in the grocery store or at church we automatically greet each other with “Hey, how’s it going?”  But do we really want to hear the litany of ills and disappointments, the perils of kids’ behaviors, the troubles with their finances, along with the gut honesty of their feelings?  I have to say, most times, probably not.  We are humans in a hurry just trying to survive our own lives of trouble and challenging circumstances.  Can I get an amen?  Don’t judge me.

But God was, is and always will be the One and Only who really wants us to sit down with Him and tell Him honestly how it is going in our lives from our lips to His ears.  “Say what’s on your heart.  Together let’s decide what’s right.”  These are Isaiah’s words given to him from God!

Are you feeling “wormy,” unloved and unacceptable?  Have others put you down with their snarcasm (snarky sarcasm) and made you feel stupid and insignificant? Then tell God!  Tell our God who cares and loves us so much that He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to save us from our sins by taking our place of punishment, who taught us how to love God and love others they way God loves us. 

Sit down and say what’s on your heart and God, the God of all who is in all and created all will tell us what is right and true.  God loves you.  God loves me.  God is on our side who love Him back.  He always has and always will.  His love is unchanging, relentless and unlimited.  Count on it, says Isaiah.

Isaiah 41, The Message

Do You Feel Like a Lowly Worm?

“Quiet down, far-flung ocean islands. Listen!
    Sit down and rest, everyone. Recover your strength.
Gather around me. Say what’s on your heart.
    Together let’s decide what’s right.

^2-3 “Who got things rolling here,
    got this champion from the east on the move?
Who recruited him for this job,
    then rounded up and corralled the nations
    so he could run roughshod over kings?
He’s off and running,
    pulverizing nations into dust,
    leaving only stubble and chaff in his wake.
He chases them and comes through unscathed,
    his feet scarcely touching the path.

⁴ “Who did this? Who made it happen?
    Who always gets things started?
I did. God. I’m first on the scene.
    I’m also the last to leave.

^5-7 “Far-flung ocean islands see it and panic.
    The ends of the earth are shaken.
    Fearfully they huddle together.
They try to help each other out,
    making up stories in the dark.
The godmakers in the workshops
    go into overtime production, crafting new models of no-gods,
Urging one another on—‘Good job!’ ‘Great design!’—
    pounding in nails at the base
    so that the things won’t tip over.

^8-10 “But you, Israel, are my servant.
    You’re Jacob, my first choice,
    descendants of my good friend Abraham.
I pulled you in from all over the world,
    called you in from every dark corner of the earth,
Telling you, ‘You’re my servant, serving on my side.
    I’ve picked you. I haven’t dropped you.’
Don’t panic. I’m with you.
    There’s no need to fear for I’m your God.
I’ll give you strength. I’ll help you.
    I’ll hold you steady, keep a firm grip on you.

^11-13 “Count on it: Everyone who had it in for you
    will end up out in the cold—
    real losers.
Those who worked against you
    will end up empty-handed—
    nothing to show for their lives.
When you go out looking for your old adversaries
    you won’t find them—
Not a trace of your old enemies,
    not even a memory.
That’s right. Because I, your God,
    have a firm grip on you and I’m not letting go.
I’m telling you, ‘Don’t panic.
    I’m right here to help you.’

^14-16 “Do you feel like a lowly worm, Jacob?
    Don’t be afraid.
Feel like a fragile insect, Israel?
    I’ll help you.
I, God, want to reassure you.
    The God who buys you back, The Holy of Israel.

I’m transforming you from worm to harrow,
    from insect to iron.
As a sharp-toothed harrow you’ll smooth out the mountains,
    turn those tough old hills into loamy soil.
You’ll open the rough ground to the weather,
    to the blasts of sun and wind and rain.
But you’ll be confident and exuberant,
    expansive in The Holy of Israel!

^17-20 “The poor and homeless are desperate for water,
    their tongues parched and no water to be found.
But I’m there to be found, I’m there for them,
    and I, God of Israel, will not leave them thirsty.
I’ll open up rivers for them on the barren hills,
    spout fountains in the valleys.
I’ll turn the baked-clay badlands into a cool pond,
    the waterless waste into splashing creeks.
I’ll plant the red cedar in that treeless wasteland,
    also acacia, myrtle, and olive.
I’ll place the cypress in the desert,
    with plenty of oaks and pines.
Everyone will see this. No one can miss it—
    unavoidable, indisputable evidence
That I, God, personally did this.
    It’s created and signed by The Holy of Israel.

^21-24 “Set out your case for your gods,” says God.
    “Bring your evidence,” says the King of Jacob.
“Take the stand on behalf of your idols, offer arguments,
    assemble reasons.
Spread out the facts before us
    so that we can assess them ourselves.
Ask them, ‘If you are gods, explain what the past means—
    or, failing that, tell us what will happen in the future.
Can’t do that?
    How about doing something—anything!
Good or bad—whatever.
    Can you hurt us or help us? Do we need to be afraid?’
They say nothing, because they are nothing—
    sham gods, no-gods, fool-making gods.

^25-29 “I, God, started someone out from the north and he’s come.
    He was called out of the east by name.
He’ll stomp the rulers into the mud
    the way a potter works the clay.
Let me ask you, Did anyone guess that this might happen?
    Did anyone tell us earlier so we might confirm it
    with ‘Yes, he’s right!’?
No one mentioned it, no one announced it,
    no one heard a peep out of you.
But I told Zion all about this beforehand.
    I gave Jerusalem a preacher of good news.
But around here there’s no one—
    no one who knows what’s going on.
    I ask, but no one can tell me the score.
Nothing here. It’s all smoke and hot air—
    sham gods, hollow gods, no-gods.”

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Our hope is restored, our minds are transformed, our broken hearts healed and our souls refreshed when we sit down and are completely honest with God.

Lord,

In sitting down with you this morning, to begin my day with you, you have down exactly what Isaiah has said you will do.  You have renewed my spirit as you cleansed my soul.  Help me know to love others like you love me.  Help me to go about this day with the confidence of You in me.  No more “wormy” feelings.  Only Hope.

In Jesus Name, Amen