Do You Beleive in God?

Isaiah 40                                                                                                                           v.18 “With who will you compare God? To what image will you liken him?       v.21 “Do you not know?  Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood since the earth was founded”    v.25 “To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One”

The three verses quoted above are each opening statements in three different stanzas in this all important fortieth chapter of Isaiah. The Bible is made up of 66 books. The Old Testament having 39, and the New Testament having 27. The book of Isaiah has 66 chapters. If we would draw a parallel between the 66 books of the Bible and the 66 chapters of Isaiah, the fortieth chapter of Isaiah would correspond with the first book of the N. T.  That chapter begins with the words “comfort, comfort my people” a message clearly consistent with the N. T. message of the “Comforter” who is the Holy Spirit. 

Although the book of Isaiah was written to the children of Israel, the message of this chapter clearly also speaks to those of us in the N. T. church age. The message of this chapter addresses those who have either neglected or continued in ignorance of the true “All-Mighty” nature of God. However, both Israel and the church as children of God should have a grasp of His nature. It was to Israel that God revealed Himself through not only His miraculous powers of protection, provision, and deliverance, but to these chosen people He also communed through their leaders, priests, and prophets, giving them His Words that in themselves defined His very eternal being.

Similarly, the New Testament church lives in the testimony of Jesus’ many miracles, His teachings that He Himself called “spirit and truth”, and His powerful triumph over death and the grave as proven by His resurrection. Therefore, as Romans chapter 2^nd declares, we are “without excuse”.  His mighty works done in both Israel and the church establish what Paul called “His eternal nature and divine power” of God (Ro. 1:20). 

Nevertheless, many continue to struggle to not only obey God, but to clearly grasp just how all-powerful and mighty He is.  In the 27^th verse of this chapter of Isaiah quoted above, the prophet again challenges his hearers grasp of just how mighty God is writing “Why do you complain oh Jacob? Why do you say oh Israel “my way is hidden from the Lord; my cause is disregarded by my God”? His questions address their lack of understanding concerning the very nature and character of God. These questions are spoken in a clearly incredulous manner. He is saying “how is this possible?” If God is God, that being the very “All-Mighty God” that He has revealed Himself to be, then the question of His powerful presence in this world and in the lives of His children should be an undebatable truth. This is who and what “God” is, the all-knowing, all-powerful, and ever-present Eternal Being! 

Websters Dictionary defines God as “The supreme or almighty reality, especially the Being perfect in power, wisdom, and goodness worshiped as creator and ruler of the universe”.  This definition is clearly derived from whom God, through His Word, has declared and revealed Himself to be. A popular definition today of God describes Him as “omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent”. The “omni” in each of these conveying that God is ”all” in every sense of the word. He is “all powerful”, meaning there is nothing God cannot do. He is “all knowing”, meaning there is no detail in this world, including the daily particulars of each of our lives, of which He is not aware. He is “all-present”, meaning He is with us in all our trials and tribulations, day and night, year in and year out, without exception.   

If those who claim to believe in God today would simply believe Him to be whom He has revealed Himself to be, then we would, unlike wavering Israel, not question God’s presence or supernatural power in our lives. His only limitations to meet our needs and work out His perfect plan in our lives are those which we ourselves impose upon Him through our own unbelief. In this unbelief, a soul is refusing to allow God to be God in their lives.  

I would categorize the three verses that open each stanza in the fortieth chapter of Isaiah as saying “Don’t you get it?”  “Don’t you get who God truly is?” Many call Him Lord without ever trusting “His eternal power and divine nature”.  To have a saving faith in God is to believe in God to be precisely who He says He is, the one who is ever present, all powerful, and all knowing.  There is nothing He cannot do. He is not confined by our human or natural limitations. He is “All-Mighty God”, and all things are not only possible, but probable for those who will trust Him to simply be the God whom He says He is.  God is that glorious and all-powerful Eternal Being of whom Webster so accurately describes as “The supreme or almighty reality, especially the Being perfect in power, wisdom, and goodness worshiped as creator and ruler of the universe”.   This is who God is!  Do you believe in this “God”?