May 5 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Devotional

Should we pay attention to what happens in the world? There are times when we get tired of all the negative political wrangling the media loves to highlight. Yet the church needs to pay attention to what is going on in politics and the global economy. The church of Christ is not an island, drifting out on its own. The rise and fall of nations, periods of global instability, and the actions of world leaders and prominent officials are not outside the plan and counsel of the Lord. As people of God we need to recognize this. That is why God asks several “who” questions in the opening verses of Isaiah 41. He wants us to think about who controls the course of history. Do world leaders, economists, or powerful military generals determine where the world is heading? No, they do not! “I the LORD, am the first; and with the last I am He.” (Isaiah 41:4)

When Isaiah wrote these words, the future looked bleak for God’s people. Superpowers threatened to overthrow them. Assyria, Egypt and Babylon were formidable nations. Right before their eyes, Judah saw Israel taken into exile. Isaiah was sent by the Lord to reveal to His covenant people that world events have everything to do with God’s plan of salvation. Nations and world leaders may do as they please, but neither the present nor the future is in their control. Judah is summoned to be present at a hearing of God and the nations, where it will be determined who controls history. What they witness is a warning to the disobedient and a comfort to the faithful.

Throughout the first 39 chapters of his prophecy, Isaiah warned Judah that disaster was coming. The Lord will move the nations to carry His people into captivity. That may seem like failure in the eyes of the nations. Where is Israel’s God? Where is the promise of the coming Messiah? To answer this question the Lord invites the nations to a hearing. All nations are summoned to come before the LORD. The church is present as a witness. The people of God must see that all events in history happen by God’s design and for their comfort.