HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 1007
ISAIAH 40
page 637
He will carry the lambs in his arms,
holding them close to his heart.
He will gently lead the mother sheep
with their young.
The LORD Has No Equal
12 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?
13 Who is able to advise the Spirit of the
Lord?*
Who knows enough to give him advice or
teach him?
14 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?
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No, for 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.
All the wood in Lebanon’s forests
and all Lebanon’s animals would
not be enough
to make a burnt offering worthy of
our God.
The nations of the world are worth nothing
to him.
In his eyes they count for less than
nothing—
mere emptiness and froth.
To whom can you compare God?
What image can you find to resemble
him?
Can he be compared to an idol formed in
a mold,
overlaid with gold, and decorated with
silver chains?
Or if people are too poor for that,
they might at least choose wood that
won’t decay
and a skilled craftsman
to carve an image that won’t fall down!
Haven’t you heard? Don’t you understand?
Are you deaf to the words of God—
the words he gave before the world began?
Are you so ignorant?
God sits above the circle of the earth.
The people below seem like grasshoppers
to him!
He spreads out the heavens like a curtain
and makes his tent from them.
40:13 Greek version reads Who can know the Lord’s thoughts?
Compare Rom 11:34; 1 Cor 2:16.
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He judges the great people of the world
and brings them all to nothing.
They hardly get started, barely taking root,
when he blows on them and they wither.
The wind carries them off like chaff.
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“To whom will you compare me?
Who is my equal?” asks the Holy One.
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Look up into the heavens.
Who created all the stars?
He brings them out like an army, one after
another,
calling each by its name.
Because of his great power and incomparable
strength,
not a single one is missing.
O Jacob, how can you say the Lord does not
see your troubles?
O Israel, how can you say God ignores
your rights?
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.
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31
• Patience
I S A I A H 40:29-31
Even recreational joggers will sometimes
experience the phenomenon of a second
wind. You’re unsure of making it another
fifty yards when out of nowhere there
comes a surge of new strength. Breathing
is no longer labored, legs are no longer
deadweight, and you can actually pick
up the pace. Most serious runners come
to expect this phase of the run, and they
learn to trust that even when their bodies
are nearing exhaustion, the second wind
will come. Scripture promises a spiritual
second wind for those who learn to wait
on God in patient, hopeful, and dependent expectation. God does not often
relieve us of our particular “race” or
struggle (see Hebrews 12), but he will
infuse us with his strength to finish the
course. When you feel like giving up, go
to the source of all strength and wait for
his second wind.