At award shows frequently the winner will get to the microphone and say that they want to give God all the glory for this prize. Does the loser want to give God all the glory? The second part of the book of Isaiah was written during the time of exile when Israel had seemingly lost — no temple, no nation, no king. The author of what scholars call Second Isaiah still wants to give God all the glory. You are my servant, God said to me, Israel, through whom I show my glory. What a vivid illustration that we need to revise our thinking about what it means to have God with us. The “servant” discovers that God has a much bigger plan than he had imagined. Instead of God simply caring for the people in a little corner of Palestine, God’s benevolent love was universal. I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth. When things don’t go according to our plan we must open ourselves to the deeper and wider plan of God.
APRIL42023
By Church Staff
