Why Look Anywhere Else?

Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. — Isaiah 41:10 

When I read a few verses earlier in Isaiah 41, I can almost picture God shaking His head. He had watched a goldsmith working at his anvil, then soldering the gold pieces together, and finally fastening his object with pegs so that this idol “might not totter” (Isaiah 41:7). What kind of hope can anyone find in a lowercase-g god that had to be propped up so that it wouldn’t fall over? What kind of hope can we find in the twenty-first-century equivalent of that goldsmith’s creation?

Perhaps more to the point, why would any of us — then or today — look for hope and help anywhere but the promise-making God of Isaiah 41:10? Look again at His pledge to be with us. 

He promises to be our God, to strengthen us, help us, and uphold us. Those promises of God offer us safety and security. And even more significant, those promises are God’s declarations of His love for us.

Why would we look anywhere else for protection from our fears, for encouragement in the face of all that brings dismay, for strength when we are weak, or for help when we are in need? We should look no further than our good, powerful, faithful, and gracious God whose love for us will endure forever.

So rest in those truths. And find contentment in the 24/7 presence of your God.

Thank You, gracious God, that I can turn to You anytime, release to You my fears, dismay, weakness, and needs, and then receive the love, contentment, and shalom that You freely give.

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A Heart of Flesh

I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. — Ezekiel 36:24-26

Scattered throughout the ancient world, God’s people, Israel, had not been good advertisements for their Lord, yet He remained faithful to them. Rather than washing His hands of them, God spoke of a future when He would gather all His people, cleanse them from their sinfulness, and “give [them][them].”

What a gift! We all know the struggle to change, to become the better person we want to be — and that goal is much lower than being the person God created each one of us to be! Yet here we read of the new heart God has for us. He will fill us with His Spirit and with a desire to follow Him. This new heart is not merely a remodel; it’s more of a tear-down and start-fresh construction project.

• God wants our new hearts to be characterized by our genuine desire to do His will and to live each moment in intimate relationship with Him.

By the power of His Spirit, our heart — hardened by sin and our lack of confession, and therefore having no experience of God’s forgiveness — will again be tender toward God, yielded to His ways, filled with love for Him, and content in His good care.

Great is God’s faithfulness to us less-than-faithful human beings!

Lord God, I am well aware of how hard-hearted I can be. Thank You for not leaving me there, for

instead softening my heart and moving me to a place where I can know contentment in You.

Excerpted with permission from The Secret to Complete Contentment by Jack Countryman, copyright Jack Countryman.

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Your Turn 

A new heart. Isn’t that encouraging?! Why would we look to anyone else but Jesus for protection, encouragement, strength, help and restoration? He will never leave us, but continues to stay close, and work with us, and be our God. ~ Devotionals Daily