Behold...

A long passage today, because it’s so darn good, from Isaiah 40:

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand,

And marked off the heavens by the span,

And calculated the dust of the earth by the measure,

And weighed the mountains in a balance

And the hills in a pair of scales?

Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord,

Or as His counselor has informed Him?

With whom did He consult and who gave Him understanding?

And who taught Him in the path of justice and taught Him knowledge

And informed Him of the way of understanding?

Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket,

And are regarded as a speck of dust on the scales;

Behold, He lifts up the islands like fine dust.

Even Lebanon is not enough to burn,

Nor its beasts enough for a burnt offering.

All the nations are as nothing before Him,

They are regarded by Him as less than nothing and meaningless.

To whom then will you liken God?

Or what likeness will you compare with Him?

Wow, it’s hard not to shed a few tears reading this passage, as I feel so small and ashamed of even daring to question the God who is the definition of wisdom.  And then to realize that he wants to share that wisdom with us; in fact, he tells us to seek it.

There is nothing to compare to our God. All we can do is marvel, wonder, and love Him more than life itself.

That is a wise way of living.

Take It

Proverbs 8 reiterates what we read yesterday in Proverbs 3:

“Take my instruction and not silver, And knowledge rather than choicest gold. “For wisdom is better than^]jewels; And all desirable things cannot compare with her.

It must be important to hear. 

Most of us run after silver and gold and jewels – in other words – all that glitters and buys things in this life.  In fact, we crave after these things and envy those who have what we don’t.  We work hard to attain things we see with our eyes, so that others can see us with their eyes and envy us.

Wisdom is speaking here, offering instruction and knowledge.

Wisdom is not to be compared with all “desirable” things.

Desirables things fade, lose their value, and what we desire changes with the shift of the wind.

Wisdom increases in value as we age, and never shifts but only grows rooted deeper and deeper as we learn and obey…His word.

That indeed is wisdom.  To obey his word, and to love the word we just obeyed.

The Profit

Proverbs 3 says For her profit is better than the profit of silver And her gain better than fine gold.  She is more precious than jewels; And nothing you desire compares with her. Long life is in her right hand; In her left hand are riches and honor.

These verses are talking about wisdom.

Yesterday we started a string of devos on comparing.  We realized nothing compares to Him and His great love for us.

Today we see that nothing we can desire in this life compares with wisdom.  Gaining wisdom is better than acquiring silver and gold, and jewels.  Really?

In fact, gaining wisdom ensures that we gain riches and honor, because we will then realize what true riches and honor are.

Solomon asked for wisdom, and he had great riches.  But they didn’t satisfy.  Wisdom enabled him to rule well.

Wisdom ensures that we make good decisions, treat others with respect, and choose life instead of death.

Nothing compares with wisdom.

Lord, grant us wisdom.

None, Nothing, No One

Psalm 40:5

Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders which You have done, And Your thoughts toward us; There is none to compare with You. If I would declare and speak of them, They would be too numerous to count.

I know that I can go from feeling good about myself to downright depressed if and when I start to compare myself against others who are prettier, younger, more skilled, richer, etc. than I am.  It’s not wise to compare ourselves among ourselves.

So where is the word “compare” used in the bible?  I wanted to know…

This verse says none compare to Him – when we gaze on his wonders – when we realize how he thinks of us – it’s quite overwhelming.

In fact, realizing His great love for us should wipe away all other comparisons, knowing that the God of the Universe formed us and loves us and amazes us daily, even just in creation.

Nothing compares to His great love, and that should settle our restless minds and hearts that wander away to measuring ourselves against others…

His Voice

Psalm 29: 3, 4 The voice of the Lord is upon the waters; The God of glory thunders,

The Lord is over many waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful, The voice of the Lord is majestic.

Remember Creation?  God spoke to the void and he created light and separated it from darkness.  Then he spoke, and the waters were formed and set into their boundaries – waters above the sky and waters on the ground, in their proper places.

I think most everyone enjoys a trip to the ocean, just to sit and look at its vastness, to hear the waves lap against the shore, and to pick up an occasional seashell to listen to the ocean’s voice captured in that tiny speck of creation.

God speaks to us in his creation, even when we feel he’s silent elsewhere.  He speaks of power, and majesty, when the sun rises and sets over the horizon each day.

Maybe, if we’re not hearing him speak on which way to go, or giving us an answer to a desire of our heart, we need to listen to the many waters…and hear his majesty and power once again.

God established his character when he created all living things and put them in their place, and that should bring us peace.

Sit still and listen to the running water of the bath, the rain outside your windows, the water as it churns in your dishwasher, or the sprinkle of water as it falls from your watering can to perk up the flowers you’ve neglected…

And know that He is God.

Ascribe!

Psalm 29: 1,2 Ascribe to the Lord, O sons of the mighty, Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.  Ascribe to the Lord the glory due to His name; Worship the Lord in holy array.

When we “ascribe” something to a person, we are giving them credit, like ascribing to an artist a particular piece of work.

It’s important that very often in our lives we ascribe to the Lord the glory and strength and worship of which he is so worthy.

Why?

Our hearts often fail because of fear, and we can then begin to lose sight and hope of the One who is all powerful, and the One who leads us and holds us.

We can speak to our wandering hearts and tell ourselves, “The Lord is glorious! The Lord is strong! The Lord is worthy of praise!”

What we hear ourselves say, what we believe in our hearts, and what we affirm by ascribing is important to our well being.  In fact, it’s a necessary part of living – ascribing to the Lord all of the glory and power due his name.

What are you ascribing to Him today?  

Start with A and go to Z, and your heart will sing and soar as you ascribe to the Lord his awesomeness...

He Heard

Psalm 28 Blessed be the Lord, Because He has heard the voice of my supplication.The Lord is my strength and my shield; My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart exults, And with my song I shall thank Him.

Yesterday’s verse was David crying out for help, afraid God might not hear him.  A few verses later, God has heard him and David is now stating that the Lord is his strength and his shield.

Do you ever wonder if God gets tired of our incessant back and forth trust/distrust in Him?

We love him, we trust him, we exalt him, and we sing to him after he hears us and answers our prayers.  But when a storm arises again, we mistrust and fear and fall into despair.

What a fickle species we are!

The Lord absolutely loves it when we praise him, and he knows our flesh grows weak and weary when things are tough. 

But I’m thinking he loves it a little bit more, perhaps, when we don’t question and we still praise him, even when all the noise is gone and the darkness is creeping in…

Because we know our Shepherd is with us. Always and forever.