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“To whom will you compare me? Who is my equal?” asks the Holy One.  Isaiah 40:25

In last week’s post we followed King Hezekiah’s ups and downs as the Assyrian empire belligerently challenged God’s people. The prophet Isaiah records God’s words of comfort for His people.  God brings justice to injustice, even when God’s people are guilty.  God also brings comfort.  Though they have been punished twice over for their sins, God has forgiven them.  Now, Isaiah encourages the people to prepare the way of the Lord!  God is getting ready to do great things for them. Suffering and discipline have a way of showing us our weaknesses.  Can we really trust God to do greater things?    Absolutely! 

God is great.  Not many would disagree with that statement, but often we act as if other things are greater.  Have you ever turned to someone or something else in a crisis before praying to God?  Many will turn to governments, human wisdom, or even manmade hopes in a crisis.  Often God is the last call we make.  But, in Isaiah 40, the prophet shows off God’s superior greatness.  He asks, “Who else has held the oceans in his hand? Who has measured off the heavens with his fingers? Who else knows the weight of the earth or has weighed the mountains and hills on a scale?” (12)  God’s greatness is evident in His creative power and eternal existence. No one is as great and powerful as God. 

God is greater than even the nations of this earth. According to Isaiah 40:15, “all the nations of the world are but a drop in the bucket. They are nothing more than dust on the scales. He picks up the whole earth as though it were a grain of sand.”  No nation, government, political party, or organization is more able to meet you in your crisis than God.  God’s power and justice supersede human power and justice.  Isaiah 40:14 asks, “Has the Lord ever needed anyone’s advice? Does he need instruction about what is good? Did someone teach him what is right or show him the path of justice?”  The obvious answer is no.  No one has advised God.  No one has debated justice with God in a courtroom and won the argument.  God is the author of morality and justice.  God determines what is right and wrong.  He knows the truth. 

So, the prophet asks, “To whom can you compare God? What image can you find to resemble him?” (18)  There are some who think money, treasures, possessions, or technological advances are comparable to God.  But these are merely man made.  These idols we set up as objects of worship are powerless.  They give us no hope because they are no better than ourselves. 

God is preeminently greater than anything or anyone.  He is able to do great things for us no matter the crisis.  If your hardship is a trial out of your control, God is able to meet you.  If your predicament is a consequence of your own wrong choices, God is able to meet you.  Isaiah 40:28-31 says,

Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding. He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.

God assures us that He is able to do greater things in our lives when we trust Him above all else.  Often, I find I must confess my wrong thinking and wrong actions.  I have to let go and let God take over.  I must trust in His forgiveness and faithfully follow His lead.  Do you believe there is anything or anyone greater than our God?