Day 7: Whose report will you believe?
Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? (Isaiah 53:1).
Heavenly Father, Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out, who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it... (Isaiah 42:5), You spoke creation into existence with the words of Your mouth—the breath of Your Spirit. Stars and galaxies, clouds and mountains, winds and waves, organisms and creatures, all took form as You spoke Your "Let there be" into the void (Genesis 1-2).
You did not speak once and then retreat into silence—You are the living God (Deuteronomy 5:26)—one God, who in triune might and majesty—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—spoke, and formed, and breathed all things into existence. And You continue to speak and to sustain all that You have made through the powerful word of Your Son, the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of Your being (Hebrews 1:3).
Of Him it is also attested, "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made" (John 1:1-3).
Lord God Almighty, You did not leave us to drift through this vast expanse, bewildered and alone. Would the One who provided for our physical sustenance not also provide for our spiritual nourishment, when You have clearly said, Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God’ (Matthew 4:4)?
You still speak light and life. You speak through Your word (2 Timothy 3:16, Hebrews 4:12), You speak through Your Son (Hebrews 1:1-2, John 10:27, and You speak through creation (Psalm 19:1-4, Romans 1:20, Psalm 29:3-9).
But not all hear, or listen. Some, like the children of Israel, hear You and beg that no further word be spoken to them (Hebrews 12:19). Others are ever hearing but never understanding (Isaiah 6:9, Matthew 13:14). And some hear and respond like the crowd in Jerusalem when our Lord Jesus prayed that Your name be glorified:
Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to Him (John 12:28-29).
And then there are those, who, without honest scrutiny or open minds, scoff at the thought of a sovereign God protecting and preserving His word through the ages as You have promised, as You have done, as You have proven (Isaiah 40:8, 1 Peter 1:25, Isaiah 46:9-10). And we, mere humans dare doubt the God who declares, “I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for Me?" (Jeremiah 32:27).
But even as the age-old question rises again and again, "Whose report will You believe?" a Savior invites us, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here and put it into My side" (John 20:27 -NKJV). And those who do bow in wonder and whisper, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28).
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