Monday Reflection \u2013 June 01, 2020
None Other Like God<\/p>\n\n\n
Do not fear, or be afraid; have I not told you from of old and declared it? You are my witnesses! Is there any god besides me? There is no other rock; I know not one. Isaiah 44:8 \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n
It\u2019s hard to read today\u2019s Watchword without hearing God\u2019s declarations in the preceding two verses: \u201cThus says the Lord, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, the Lord\u00a0of hosts: I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god. Who is like me? Let them proclaim it, let them declare and set it forth before me. Who has announced from of old the things to come? Let them tell us\u00a0what is yet to be.\u201d (vss. 6-7).<\/p>\n\n\n
In these verses the prophet focuses on God\u2019s being. Who is this God in a world filled with so many possible objects of worship, so many other gods? Here we see the prophet\u2019s own witness of the sovereignty of God, as also God\u2019s self-revelation. God is not playing second fiddle in the cosmic orchestra; rather, God is introduced as both first chair and conductor, the one and only. He is King, Redeemer, and Lord of hosts. God declares, \u201cI am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no other god\u201d. There is no other viable object of worship. There is no other source of life. There is no other King. There is no other Redeemer. There is no other Lord of hosts.<\/p>\n\n\n
God challenges all around – Who is like me? Let them proclaim it, let them declare and set it forth before me. Who has announced from of old the things to come? Let them tell us\u00a0what is yet to be. Of course, no one dares to rise up; no one – god or human – answers God\u2019s questions. Into this silence, God proclaims, \u201cDo not fear or be afraid.\u201d Silence in the face of God\u2019s questions is a great thing because it directs the witnesses back toward the living God, besides whom there is no other.<\/p>\n\n\n
The world in which we live is overcrowded with objects and individuals demanding our devotion. These inspire fear – fear of death, inadequacy, alienation, being in control, being out of control. These fears demand devotion. With this reality, God directs our attention and our devotion away from these empty things and pursuits back towards him, the Saviour and source of life. We must pay attention to how we spend our lives, what consumes us and what consumes our time. Such is a clear indication of where our focus and attention is and ultimately, who is our god. God, who is the first and the last, desires to arrest our fears and give us a fresh vision of a great future. Jesus cemented this when he declared in Revelation 1:17, \u201cFear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one; I died, and behold I am alive for evermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hell.\u201d Jesus Christ – King, Redeemer, and Lord of hosts \u2013 conquered death and hell and eradicated all fear.<\/p>\n\n\n
May we yield ourselves to the sovereignty of God and may he reign in our hearts and lives.<\/p>\n\n\n
Jermaine Gibson\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Monday Reflection \u2013 June 01, 2020 None Other Like God Do not fear, or be afraid; have I not told you from of old and declared it? You are my witnesses! Is there any god besides me? There is no other rock; I know not one. Isaiah\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"template":"","watchword_topic":[13],"class_list":["post-211","watchword","type-watchword","status-publish","hentry","watchword_topic-christian-living"],"yoast_head":"\n