His Words

Good Morning,

Isaiah 55:10-11 (NIV)
As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
Acts 1:8 (NIV)
"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

These two seemingly unrelated sections of Scripture crossed my desk this morning.

The first section, from Isaiah 55, seemed to be an answer to questions that form in my mind from time to time. Then, as I read all of my e-mails, the second section, from Acts 1, appeared to do exactly the same thing, but it was sort of an extension to those verses in Isaiah.

What I'm trying to convey today is that we have all been given the responsibility to share the Gospel message with the world. Jesus said so. He said, "...and you will be my witnesses...," I have always assumed that when He spoke these words He wasn't just speaking to those who could hear His voice on that day. No, I think that we all believe He was speaking to ALL believers on this. And, He wanted those who could hear His voice, and all of us for all time, to not only speak up with His message locally, "...Judea and Samaria," but wide and far, as well, "...to the ends of the earth." So, we can all agree on that, can't we?

But, sometimes we speak the Gospel message or we openly show God's love in our lives in some way and, well, we wonder if it does any good. Or, we hear that voice in our heads that we should say this or write that, we obey...then, again, we sort of wonder if what we've said or what we've done really makes any difference in the world...in the grand scheme of things.

That's where the verses in Isaiah come in, you see. God is clear...very, very clear...about what happens when "my word that goes out of my mouth" is spoken or used in some way by His children.

God speaks to us. He gives us direction and asks us to speak up or do something or other that is from Him. We don't always realize that it's from God and sometimes we aren't quick to act on what we've heard. Okay, that's human and normal, I believe. But, when we DO act on what we've heard, we should never, ever doubt that what God has asked of us is, truly, bearing fruit and accomplishing exactly what God wants to accomplish.

God gives us the perfect analogy and example in these beautiful verses from Isaiah. His word...what He would ask of us to do or say...does what He wishes, just exactly as the rain and snow fall from the sky to water the earth and grow the food that we eat, so also do God's words that come directly from Him to us "water" people just as He wants.

I know this is a bit rambling this morning. However, I also know that pretty much all of us has the human curiosity about whether or not something we're saying or doing makes any difference in the world. Well, at least I know I do sometime. So, when these verses came my way today, I knew that they should be sent along. I also know, without a doubt at all, that God's words we read today and what He has had to say about them, will, indeed, accomplish exactly what He desires and achieve all of the purposes for which He sent it.

Love, peace, and blessings,

David