Seventh Day Baptist
Christian Education Council
PO BOX 1678
Janesville, WI 53547
Awake, awake, put on strength,
O arm of the LORD;
awake, as in days of old,
the generations of long ago.
Was it not you who cut Rahab in pieces,
who pierced the dragon?
Was it not you who dried up the sea,
the waters of the great deep,
who made the depths of the sea a way
for the redeemed to pass over?
And the ransomed of the LORD shall return
and come to Zion with singing;
everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;
they shall obtain gladness and joy,
and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
“I, I am he who comforts you;
who are you that you are afraid of man who dies,
of the son of man who is made like grass,
and have forgotten the LORD, your Maker,
who stretched out the heavens
and laid the foundations of the earth,
and you fear continually all the day
because of the wrath of the oppressor,
when he sets himself to destroy?
And where is the wrath of the oppressor?
He who is bowed down shall speedily be released;
he shall not die and go down to the pit,
neither shall his bread be lacking.
I am the LORD your God,
who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—
the LORD of hosts is his name.
And I have put my words in your mouth
and covered you in the shadow of my hand,
establishing the heavens
and laying the foundations of the earth,
and saying to Zion, ‘You are my people.’”
(ESV)
—Isaiah 51:9-16
by: Ashea West.
Do you know the God you serve? He is the One that paints the sky that purple-pink color and formed the mountains and the valleys. All of nature’s beauty was created by God. Yet we seem to be afraid of what our peers might think or say about us—when they have no authority whatsoever. We serve the God who is in control of all things. So even if another person tries to bring us down or mess up our plans, God is bigger than that. The next time you find yourself so concerned about what others will think when you set out to do God’s work, remember that God is the one with real authority.
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