Week 30: Second Guessing God
Weekly Reading:
Isaiah 4 - 30
Opening Prayer
Father God,
We praise You today for Your consistency and Your justness. Father, You are the same today, yesterday, and always. That is why we can trust that Your word is true. Father, You provide for us in so many ways, please open our eyes to Your blessings when we do not understand them.
Amen
Study
We are all guilty of it in some way or another. We fail to consult God, or we second-guess the blessings he puts our lives.
In 2016, God moved us back into a house that I did not like. My list of reasons was long: the house is too big to clean, the yard is overwhelming, I liked where we were living before, our neighbors were not inclusive when we live there the first time, and the list goes on. I was angry, I dug in my feet, and I let everyone know I was not happy about it. The next year we found out why God moved us into the house. We had a first-floor bedroom, only two stairs to get in, a large accessible driveway, and all the things we needed when we brought my husband back home after his stroke. I was second-guessing God’s wisdom and relying on my own decisions.
God is noticeably clear in this week’s reading on how he feels about our second-guessing His decisions or when we are upset with His timing. God is incredibly angry with Israel and Judah as expressed through Isaiah. God compares His people to a cultivated vineyard, cared for and pruned, the fertile valley prepared for in advance, The land plowed, stones removed, every vine carefully chosen from the best crop, cultivated, and then planted in the vineyard. Lovingly the vines are watered, weeds cleared away, only to produce bitter grapes (Isaiah 5:1-7). God would judge His people and they continued to live the way they wanted on their terms.
Even the king of Assyria is under God’s wrath as he assumes his might and power personally when God is the one who provided the power to defeat Israel. When God uses Assyria to punish Israel by overpowering them, Assyria becomes God’s tool. But the king of Assyria is so boastful and full of ego that he claims victory himself as found in Isaiah 10:5-19. (If you are questioning God giving Assyria power over Israel, see Proverbs 16:4 as God is the creator of all things, even the wicked for a day of disaster.)
“But can the axe boast greater power than the person who uses it? Is the saw greater than the person who saws? Can a rod strike unless a hand moves it? Can a wooden cane walk by itself?”
Isaiah 10:15 NLT
We are all God’s tools, here to do God’s work and let the blessings abound by living in harmony with His desire in our lives.
“No, don’t say that. Who are you, a mere human being, to argue with God? Should the thing that was created say to the one who created it, “Why have you made me like this?” When a potter makes jars out of clay, doesn’t he have a right to use the same lump of clay to make one jar for decoration and another to throw garbage into?”
Romans 9:20-21 NLT
“What sorrow awaits those who try to hide their plans from the Lord, who do their evil deeds in the dark! “The Lord can’t see us,” they say. “He doesn’t know what’s going on!” How foolish can you be? He is the Potter, and he is certainly greater than you, the clay! Should the created thing say of the one who made it, “He didn’t make me”? Does a jar ever say, “The potter who made me is stupid”?”
Isaiah 29:15-16 NLT
Also, when good happens, it is not to our glory but to God’s. It is the Psalmist who recognizes where true power comes from:
“Arise, O Lord! Stand against them and bring them to their knees! Rescue me from the wicked with your sword! By the power of your hand, O Lord, destroy those who look to this world for their reward. But satisfy the hunger of your treasured ones. May their children have plenty, leaving an inheritance for their descendants.”
Psalms 17:13-14 NLT
The simple language used:
Axe to logger cutting wood
Clay to Potter
Us to God
The tool created by God for His glory, His desire.
We see the Israelites in Isaiah 22:11 trying to control the situation again instead of looking to God for provision. Instead of doing God’s will or seeking God’s will, they show contempt for Him by pursuing their own ideas of safety and provision. God will provide for all their needs, yet we see them focus on their own desires for provision and safety.
Isaiah describes it best.
“So the Lord must wait for you to come to him so he can show you his love and compassion. For the Lord is a faithful God. Blessed are those who wait for his help. O people of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. He will be gracious if you ask for help. He will surely respond to the sound of your cries. Though the Lord gave you adversity for food and suffering for drink, he will still be with you to teach you. You will see your teacher with your own eyes. Your own ears will hear him. Right behind you a voice will say, “This is the way you should go,” whether to the right or to the left.”
Isaiah 30:18-21 NLT
Wait for God’s timing.
Listen to his voice.
Follow his will.
Praise God for what he has done.
Closing Prayer
Father God,
Thank You for showing us the way, for sending truth, for reminding us through Your correction of who we are and who You are. We are Your tool, Your instrument. Father, thank You for Your blessings, help us see when Your blessings are before us.
Amen
Homework
Do you have anything in your life that you look at as a curse, but is really a blessing (refer to my story at the beginning)?
What is God using you for today?
