The Infinite Moving into the Familiar

Isaiah 41:14–20

“Do not be afraid, you worm Jacob, little Israel, do not fear, for I Myself will help you,” declares the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. “See, I will make you into a threshing sledge, new and sharp, with many teeth. You will thresh the mountains and crush them, and reduce the hills to chaff. You will winnow them, the wind will pick them up, and a gale will blow them away. But you will rejoice in the LORD and glory in the Holy One of Israel. “The poor and needy search for water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. But I the LORD will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. I will make rivers flow on barren heights, and springs within the valleys. I will turn the desert into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs. I will put in the desert the cedar and the acacia, the myrtle and the olive. I will set junipers in the wasteland, the fir and the cypress together, so that people may see and know, may consider and understand, that the hand of the LORD has done this, that the Holy One of Israel has created it.”

Through these verses in Isaiah we witness God move from Holy, separate, wholly or entirely other into the familiar —a redeemer. He is, after all, Father. The powerful and almighty creator of this vast universe is Father to humankind. We were made in His image, and His image is not of an impersonal force a la Star Wars, the quantum vaccuum isn’t personal, nor is the deistic god of Newton and 19th century ‘enlightenment’ thinkers, neither it is the image of stars and galaxies, burning gases and cosmic dust. Nay, He formed us from dust but are fashioned in His likeness, male and female (Gen 1:26–27), endowed with free will and volition. We may appear to be insignificant across centuries and amidst the deadness of deep space, we are but tiny worms, or much less (Job 25:6), little Israel, we must be of good cheer, God Himself helps us (v. 14). The LORD said, "So don't be afraid, little flock. For it gives your Father great happiness to give you the Kingdom (Luke 12:32), and God indeed gave His kingdom through His Firstborn, our Christ, LORD and King, may we share just that with others especially the next generation. He may have not been the best of fathers, one of his greatest regrets he confessed, however he had been given a heavy burden, and I believe he carried it the best way he can and succeeded, and I believe God took care of His family anyway, Billy Graham said, “the greatest legacy one can pass on to one's children and grandchildren is not money or other material things accumulated in one's life, but rather a legacy of character and faith.” Living Life notes “the intervention of the LORD results in two things. First, the people are blessed because their physical needs are met. But His provision is designed to point to the One who redeems and restores His people, so that all may know and understand who God is. As believers, a deepening knowledge of God’s character and experience of His goodness always leads to praise and thanksgiving.” Ultimately God is our Father, though He is Holy/Separate, He takes care of us and let us draw near, He is not far. “From one man He made every nation of men, to inhabit the whole earth; and He determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their lands. God intended that they would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us (Acts 17:26–27).”