The fog rolled in sometime in the early hours of morning where we are staying on the east coast.  Fog blinds our views of the beauty we saw yesterday in the bay.  We must realize that what we saw yesterday is still there today; we just cannot see it—yet.  As I write and look out the window, the fog has already dissipated, evaporating as the sun takes over to illuminate what is still there—the beauty of His creation. 

God created all.  God is in all He created.  God has systems in place to keep it all going the way He planned from the beginning.  God is our beginning and our ending on this earth journey.  Believers in Him will have forever with Him in a place Jesus, His Son, is preparing for us that is beyond earth.  God’s Plan, all along, was His Son, sent to earth on a mission to serve, to heal, to teach and ultimately save the world from their sin so all who believe can live with Him forever.  Yes, that’s how it works.  Jesus—God’s Plan to save the world.  It is God’s desire that no one perish but live forever with Him.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16

Isaiah is passionately foretelling about the One who will come—Jesus—who will set all things right!  Isaiah is trying to assure believing people who God is, who has been with them all along, and who is still with them now.  Most seem to be blinded by the fog of indecision, overwhelming mistreatment and unbelief caused by rebellious hearts and stubborn minds.  He cries out to the people to open their blinded eyes and deaf ears to see and hear God.  It is the same today.  I pray the fog lifts for the blinded eyes who only see the fog while missing who has been there all along—Jesus.

“And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.’”  Matthew 3:17 “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”  Matthew 17:5

Isaiah 42, The Message

God’s Servant Will Set Everything Right

^1-4 “Take a good look at my servant.
    I’m backing him to the hilt.
He’s the one I chose,
    and I couldn’t be more pleased with him.
I’ve bathed him with my Spirit, my life.
    He’ll set everything right among the nations.
He won’t call attention to what he does
    with loud speeches or gaudy parades.
He won’t brush aside the bruised and the hurt
    and he won’t disregard the small and insignificant,
    but he’ll steadily and firmly set things right.
He won’t tire out and quit. He won’t be stopped
    until he’s finished his work—to set things right on earth.
Far-flung ocean islands
    wait expectantly for his teaching.”

The God Who Makes Us Alive with His Own Life

^5-9 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.”

^10-16 Sing to God a brand-new song,
    sing his praises all over the world!
Let the sea and its fish give a round of applause,
    with all the far-flung islands joining in.
Let the desert and its camps raise a tune,
    calling the Kedar nomads to join in.
Let the villagers in Sela round up a choir
    and perform from the tops of the mountains.
Make God’s glory resound;
    echo his praises from coast to coast.
God steps out like he means business.
    You can see he’s primed for action.
He shouts, announcing his arrival;
    he takes charge and his enemies fall into line:
“I’ve been quiet long enough.
    I’ve held back, biting my tongue.
But now I’m letting loose, letting go,
    like a woman who’s having a baby—
Stripping the hills bare,
    withering the wildflowers,
Drying up the rivers,
    turning lakes into mudflats.

But I’ll take the hand of those who don’t know the way,
    who can’t see where they’re going.
I’ll be a personal guide to them,
    directing them through unknown country.
I’ll be right there to show them what roads to take,
    make sure they don’t fall into the ditch.
These are the things I’ll be doing for them—
    sticking with them, not leaving them for a minute.”

¹⁷ But those who invested in the no-gods
    are bankrupt—dead broke.

You’ve Seen a Lot, but Looked at Nothing

^18-25 Pay attention! Are you deaf?
    Open your eyes! Are you blind?
You’re my servant, and you’re not looking!
    You’re my messenger, and you’re not listening!
The very people I depended upon, servants of God,
    blind as a bat—willfully blind!
You’ve seen a lot, but looked at nothing.
    You’ve heard everything, but listened to nothing.
God intended, out of the goodness of his heart,
    to be lavish in his revelation.
But this is a people battered and cowed,
    shut up in attics and closets,
Victims licking their wounds,
    feeling ignored, abandoned.
But is anyone out there listening?
    Is anyone paying attention to what’s coming?
Who do you think turned Jacob over to the thugs,
    let loose the robbers on Israel?
Wasn’t it God himself, this God against whom we’ve sinned—
    not doing what he commanded,
    not listening to what he said?
Isn’t it God’s anger that’s behind all this,
    God’s punishing power?
Their whole world collapsed but they still didn’t get it;
    their life is in ruins but they don’t take it to heart.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

God will accomplish His great plan of salvation for this world through the ministry of the Servant. God chose him, God upheld him, and God enabled him to succeed in his mission. Because of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, one day will come a glorious kingdom on earth, and God will bring justice to the Gentiles, (the world).

Look, listen, learn, repent, and be saved forever, in Jesus Name, Amen

Too simple?  God knows what we need.  He keeps it simple.  Always.

Thank you, Lord. 

Help me to learn to love like you obviously love me.

In Jesus Name, Amen