“Listen to me, all who hope for deliverance -- all who seek the Lord! Consider the rock from which you were cut, the quarry from which you were mined. Yes, think about Abraham, your ancestor, and Sarah, who gave birth to your nation. Abraham was only one man when I called him. But when I blessed him, he became a great nation” (Isaiah 51:1-2).
Not everyone among the nation of Israel who heard the prophecies of Isaiah was stubborn and rebellious. While most did refuse to hear, there was still a faithful remnant who listened to God and desired to do His will. But even this small group was becoming disheartened as they considered Isaiah’s messages of judgment and destruction. Perhaps they had reached the point where they thought all hope was lost. Maybe they had begun to believe that even the faithful were doomed. Could it be that things were so bad that even God would be helpless to straighten the mess out?
God’s answer to those whose faith was weakening was to point them to the past. He is a specialist when it comes to taking seemingly hopeless situations and doing something incredible. The writer of Hebrews describes God powerful work in Abraham and Sarah’s lives this way: “It was by faith that even Sarah was able to have a child, though she was barren and was too old. She believed that God would keep his promise. And so a whole nation came from this one man who was as good as dead -- a nation with so many people that, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore, there is no way to count them” (Hebrews 11:11-12).
When we are faced with a situation that seems hopeless, I believe God would remind us of the same thing. “Consider the rock from which you were cut, the quarry from which you were mined.” May we all experience the blessing of being “...living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple (1 Peter 2:5).
God loves you!
Mike
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