This Day in History: 0000-07-23

July 23 – Isaiah 45:18-19 & 6-7 

For the Lord is God, and He created the heavens and the earth and put everything in place.
He made the world to be lived in, not to be a place of empty chaos.
“I am the Lord,” He says, “and there is no other. I publicly proclaim bold promises.
I do not whisper obscurities in some dark corner.
I would not have told the people of Israel to seek Me if I could not be found.
I, the Lord, speak only what is true and declare only what is right.” 

I am the Lord, and there is no other.
I create the light and make the darkness.
I send good times and bad times.
I, the Lord, am the One who does these things. 

Aren’t we so thankful to serve the One True God? So thankful to worship the Living God who makes brazen proclamations to His beloved people! He is not some powerless wooden idol, carved by human hands. He is the Creator of heaven and earth! He was not fashioned by man, but rather, He fashioned man. He set in motion everything we know and understand and He created every last atom with order, intention and purpose. He holds it all together by His mighty power, and He does it all in order to provide for us a place to live. A place we can study and (on some level at least) predict and understand. That order was meant to point us back to Him. As we learn about creation, it should point us to the Creator, for He wants to be found! 

I don’t know about you, but I am even more thankful for that than I am to serve the Living God. What a privilege it is to belong to a God who is present, who is near, and who wants to be known! He is not some fable or the creative imagining of a gifted story-teller, invented to keep children in line or entertain the masses. He is an abiding friend who sticks closer than a brother. He is a faithful Father who loves without condition and tenderly cares for His own. He doesn’t frustrate those who seek Him by speaking in quiet riddles, but boldly offers us the living and breathing Word of God to guide us into an eternal, covenant relationship with Him. He is Truth itself, faithful and trustworthy to the very end! 

Furthermore, He assures us that as the Lord God Almighty, there is nothing which falls outside of His purpose and plan. Whether we find ourselves in darkness or light, we can know that He made it that way. Whether we’re in good times, or bad, we can know it did not catch Him by surprise. What comfort there is in that truth! Friends, He is the One True God. He has called us to Himself. He has promised us eternal life, and adopted us into His family. Let’s praise Him today for the privilege to be counted among His very own!