Isaiah 51:12-13 – I, I am he who comforts you;
why then are you afraid of a mere mortal who must die,
a human being who fades like grass?
You have forgotten the Lord, your Maker,
who stretched out the heavens
and laid the foundations of the earth.
You fear continually all day long
because of the fury of the oppressor,
who is bent on destruction.
But where is the fury of the oppressor?
You have forgotten the Lord, your Maker
I know that there are times that I have forgotten the Lord. Not that I had fully turned my back on Him, but that I forgot Him as demonstrated in these verses. In this passage, the Lord is speaking to the people of the day, but I believe He is also talking to us. There are circumstances in our lives when we forget about God. Maybe we’re distracted, busy climbing the social or professional ladder. Maybe we’re control freaks and try to control everything. We forget Him.
I, I am he who comforts you
Sometimes I wish that I could hear God’s tone of voice. I’m guessing He doesn’t sound as sarcastic or perturbed as I hear Him in my head. In my mind this part of the verse sounds a little more like this: “Helllllloooooo! Seriously! It’s me. I’m the one who comforts you.” The next part that follows also has a tone, “how can you be afraid of your coworker? your sibling? your neighbor? They’re only people. I’m God, I got your back.”
You have forgotten the Lord, your Maker,
who stretched out the heavens
and laid the foundations of the earth
When we’re going through our life, we can forget all that the Lord has done. God is reminding us in these verses that He has authority over all the earth. He made the heavens, the earth and everything in it. I guess that’s why I feel the tone in the verses above, because that’s how I feel about the fact that I forget God. Hellloooo Jill! Seriously you’re going to try to be in control when you have had so many examples of how the Lord has had your back. I look at my life, and no matter how bad it gets, I have a longer list of blessings. Lately my friend and I have been working hard at reminding each other to trust God. We trust Him in the little things (making it on time in bad traffic or making it not a problem if we’re late) or the big things (our health, marriages and friendships). We have not been disappointed. God has shown up every time. I have so much evidence of the Lord being an active participant in my life, it’s crazy to me that I actually try to do some things on my own. When will I learn! I pray today is the day I learn. I pray with practice I will surrender myself to the Lord on a moment to moment basis. I pray I do not forget the Lord.
This whole chapter in Isaiah is amazing. I’m going to post it here for you to ponder.
Isaiah 51
New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
Blessings in Store for God’s People
51 Listen to me, you that pursue righteousness,
you that seek the Lord.
Look to the rock from which you were hewn,
and to the quarry from which you were dug.
2 Look to Abraham your father
and to Sarah who bore you;
for he was but one when I called him,
but I blessed him and made him many.
3 For the Lord will comfort Zion;
he will comfort all her waste places,
and will make her wilderness like Eden,
her desert like the garden of the Lord;
joy and gladness will be found in her,
thanksgiving and the voice of song.
4 Listen to me, my people,
and give heed to me, my nation;
for a teaching will go out from me,
and my justice for a light to the peoples.
5 I will bring near my deliverance swiftly,
my salvation has gone out
and my arms will rule the peoples;
the coastlands wait for me,
and for my arm they hope.
6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
and look at the earth beneath;
for the heavens will vanish like smoke,
the earth will wear out like a garment,
and those who live on it will die like gnats;[a]
but my salvation will be forever,
and my deliverance will never be ended.
7 Listen to me, you who know righteousness,
you people who have my teaching in your hearts;
do not fear the reproach of others,
and do not be dismayed when they revile you.
8 For the moth will eat them up like a garment,
and the worm will eat them like wool;
but my deliverance will be forever,
and my salvation to all generations.
9 Awake, awake, put on strength,
O arm of the Lord!
Awake, as in days of old,
the generations of long ago!
Was it not you who cut Rahab in pieces,
who pierced the dragon?
10 Was it not you who dried up the sea,
the waters of the great deep;
who made the depths of the sea a way
for the redeemed to cross over?
11 So the ransomed of the Lord shall return,
and come to Zion with singing;
everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;
they shall obtain joy and gladness,
and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
12 I, I am he who comforts you;
why then are you afraid of a mere mortal who must die,
a human being who fades like grass?
13 You have forgotten the Lord, your Maker,
who stretched out the heavens
and laid the foundations of the earth.
You fear continually all day long
because of the fury of the oppressor,
who is bent on destruction.
But where is the fury of the oppressor?
14 The oppressed shall speedily be released;
they shall not die and go down to the Pit,
nor shall they lack bread.
15 For I am the Lord your God,
who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—
the Lord of hosts is his name.
16 I have put my words in your mouth,
and hidden you in the shadow of my hand,
stretching out[b] the heavens
and laying the foundations of the earth,
and saying to Zion, “You are my people.”
17 Rouse yourself, rouse yourself!
Stand up, O Jerusalem,
you who have drunk at the hand of the Lord
the cup of his wrath,
who have drunk to the dregs
the bowl of staggering.
18 There is no one to guide her
among all the children she has borne;
there is no one to take her by the hand
among all the children she has brought up.
19 These two things have befallen you
—who will grieve with you?—
devastation and destruction, famine and sword—
who will comfort you?[c]
20 Your children have fainted,
they lie at the head of every street
like an antelope in a net;
they are full of the wrath of the Lord,
the rebuke of your God.
21 Therefore hear this, you who are wounded,[d]
who are drunk, but not with wine:
22 Thus says your Sovereign, the Lord,
your God who pleads the cause of his people:
See, I have taken from your hand the cup of staggering;
you shall drink no more
from the bowl of my wrath.
23 And I will put it into the hand of your tormentors,
who have said to you,
“Bow down, that we may walk on you”;
and you have made your back like the ground
and like the street for them to walk on.
God is... 