August 14, 2022 - Our Thoughts About God Shape our Life - Pastor Paul Vallee

Isaiah 40 Far too many of God’s children feel alone, hurt and wonder where our Father is. Is there a feeling of unrest in your soul and the temptation to give up? We may wonder why God has not seen our plight and rescued us from our prison of pain. The only problem with surrendering to our emotions is that it will not bring the hope and comfort we passionately long for. We often fail to remember that our soul is the object of a great battle. We are under attack from unseen spiritual forces endeavouring to bring discouragement to us. God promises to meet the cry of our hearts. We’re not talking here about the more superficial needs that are closer to the surface in each of our lives, but rather the inner longing for love that is unconditional, a sense of security, a confidence in the future, and a measure of worth, dignity and value as an individual. God hears that cry and can meet that need, giving each of us a sense of wholeness. Augustine was right when he penned those immortal words in the fourth century, ‘Our hearts find no rest until they find their rest in You.” The problem is that many are not resting in the love and grace of our Lord. Intellectually we know this is a promise to us, but it seems to mock us. We truly long for it, but it may not be our experience at this moment in our lives. Our soul’s cry could easily be reflected by the words of that ancient prophet Isaiah when he wrote. Why do you say, O Jacob, and complain, O Israel, ‘My way is hidden from the LORD; my cause is disregarded by my God? - Isaiah 40:27 Or, as we would say, ‘where are you, God, when my life is falling apart?’ The real problem may not be that God is not there, but rather a lack of understanding of who our heavenly Father really is. We rarely see ourselves as the problem; instead, we are upset with God because He seems indifferent to our plight, pain, and present predicament. Could it be that we take ourselves far too seriously and God not seriously enough in our world? Could it be that our world originates with ourselves at the centre and God is somewhere on the sidelines? Could it be that we have lost sight of God’s majestic greatness; which, as J. I. Packer states, “The Christian’s instincts of trust and worship are stimulated very powerfully by the knowledge of the greatness of God.” 2 Could it be that we pursued the false substitutes and trappings of worldly values and found them empty and blamed God for the emptiness in our souls? There are moments in all our lives when we need a message of comfort. We need to hear a message that will help us transcend our momentary afflictions and lift our hearts to new highs and new hopes. Israel was experiencing just such a time when Isaiah penned chapter 40. In Isaiah chapter 40, we gain a new glimpse at the majesty of God that brings renewed hope and vision. Folks, a vision of God can transform our worn, broken, and empty hearts and fill us with incredible hope and joy. It was A. W. Tozer who wrote in his book, ‘The Knowledge of the Holy,’ “What comes to our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. ...He goes on to say, ‘the man who comes to a right belief about God is relieved of ten thousand temporal problems, for he sees at once that these have to do with matters which at the most cannot concern him for a very long time...” 1 What we believe in our innermost being will determine our spiritual future. Our understanding of the nature and character of God determines how we respond to Him.