Devotion 7.15.26

Isaiah 44

Besides Me There Is No God

"6 Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel

  and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts:

“I am the first and I am the last;

  besides me there is no god.

7 Who is like me? Let him proclaim it.

  Let him declare and set it before me,

since I appointed an ancient people.

  Let them declare what is to come, and what will happen.

8 Fear not, nor be afraid;

  have I not told you from of old and declared it?

  And you are my witnesses!

Is there a God besides me?

  There is no Rock; I know not any.”

Among the many gods of this earth, there is only one Almighty God, our fortress and very present help in times of trouble.

I believe it was Rev. Dale Meyer, when he was the Lutheran Hour Speaker, who noted in a sermon once that he was grateful for the gift of age, of "getting old." He said that age has a way of turning us to God as we need him daily just to make it sometimes. (This being the same Dale Meyer who sat next to me at a convention once, and as the speaker was giving us directions to attend to our needs - restrooms and yes, a nurse if need be), Rev Meyer leaned over and quietly said, "I now find I need a team of doctors, not just a nurse."

As I get older, about a decade after that interaction, I understand that. No longer do I cope alone. I pray each day is relatively trouble free, that God give me the wisdom and means to cope and thrive, to thank God for another day, and to be his instrument as opportunities arise.

As I get older, I realize I no longer rely on self, 

To today's point from God: He alone is God, and as such he is a great God. He is our provider of all things. He gave a promise to Israel in days before now (Isaiah) and plans on fulfilling that promise. He is the rock of our salvation. 

Why does God feel the need to tell us he alone is God, the rock of our salvation? As was noted earlier, probably because the young arrogant man is present in each one of us. Too proud to ask for help or even need help. Too arrogant to think that anyone but myself got me here to this point in life. That young man still dwells within me as well, regardless of how many rings are around my tree, I still am "young at heart," including my sinful and error-filled ways.

"I am a rock; I am an island," Paul Simon once wrote and sang. A song about the vulnerabilities in life and how we believe in our minds we've overcome them by our own strength and certainty.

Pray we drop the resistance and let God be the God of our lives. Pray we give him the praise as he is due. Pray that we acknowledge him before others as witness to the gifts he gives in life. Without God, I am nothing.

God is our rock, our fortress, our very help in life.

Amen

Hope Men's Ministry is a ministry in service to Hope Lutheran Church and School. Our purpose is to grow, unite, and share God's Word to all men through meaningful activities. These activities center on fellowship, service, conversation, prayer, study and devotion as we seek to become men of God as He created us to be.