Growing with God: A daily devotional with Tonia Slimm.
Isaiah 45:24-25 (NIV)
“They will say of me, ‘In the Lord alone are deliverance and strength.’” All who have raged against him will come to him and be put to shame. But all the descendants of Israel will find deliverance in the Lord and will make their boast in him.”
Isaiah 45:24-25 (MSG)
“…saying of me, ‘Yes! Salvation and strength are in God!’” All who have raged against him will be brought before him, disgraced by their unbelief. And all who are connected with Israel will have a robust, praising, good life in God!”
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“It shall be said of Me, ‘Only in the Lord are righteousness and strength.’ To Him people will come, and all who were angry at Him will be put to shame. In the Lord all the offspring of Israel will be justified (declared free of guilt) and will glory [in God].” -AMPLIFIED
“Righteousness and strength are found in the LORD, not in ourselves or anywhere else.” ~David Guzik
Yesterday’s passage encouraged us to look to Jehovah for salvation now and encouraged us to pledge allegiance to Him as well. Isaiah recorded this for us:
“So turn your heart to me, face me now, and be saved wherever you are,
even from the ends of the earth, for I alone am God, and there is no other.
I make this solemn oath to you in my own name; this word sent from my mouth in righteousness
will not return unfulfilled: ‘Truly every knee will bow before me
and every tongue will solemnly swear allegiance to me!’” -Isaiah 45:22-23 (The Passion Translation)
This chapter closes out with a declaration that every believer should be able to make: “… only in Adonai
are justice and strength.” (CJB)
“Those who know that God is the source of life, integrity, and strength live lives marked by confidence and a calm assurance.” ~VOICE footnote
“They will say of Me, “Only by the Eternal One shall I see things through. Only by God shall I go with integrity and strength through life.” Now all those who burned with anger against God will come to Him and be shamed. Through the Eternal, all the descendants of Israel will be vindicated and made glorious within the world.” -(VOICE)
Yesterday’s text ended with a prophetic Message of a future event. A time when every knee would bow before the One King, and every tongue would confess their allegiance to Him as well. Today’s text completes this prophetic Message. In today’s passage we are to understand that the people of this future time will declare that Jehovah is their Righteousness and Strength. He alone will bring justification and victory. And all those who rage against Him, who disbelieve this Truth, will be brought to shame, they will be humbled.
“In Jehovah is all my righteousness and strength,” the people shall declare. And all who were angry with him shall come to him and be ashamed. In Jehovah all the generations of Israel shall be justified, triumphant.” -(TLB)
“The one group goes to humiliation; the other to exaltation and their exaltation is God’s exaltation. They justify themselves in Him because they really had no claim on their own; they were just sinners who repented. When they did so, He delivered them, spiritually, physically, so he is their boast. They, and all their offspring will praise him for what he has done for them.” ~Avraham Gileadi
Back in Isaiah 12, Isaiah made this declaration that we too need to proclaim for ourselves:
“Yes, indeed—God is my salvation.
I trust, I won’t be afraid.
God—yes God!—is my strength and song,
best of all, my salvation!” -Isaiah 12:2 (MSG)
“Or “the God who gives me triumph.” The Hebrew word for “salvation,” yĕshuw’ah, is found in Isaiah twenty-eight times and is very similar to the Hebrew name of Jesus: Yeshua. Redemption is God’s last word, not judgment. To know Jesus is to know the God of salvation.” ~The Passion Translation footnote
In the end, when all is said and done, the wicked will be put down, and those who have chosen to accept God’s gift of salvation will be justified and be victorious. This will not be through their own efforts, but through God’s great love for us. The Apostle Paul reminds us of this, in the book of Ephesians he writes about God’s great love and mercy that is focused on man:
“But God, with the unfathomable richness of His love and mercy focused on us, united us with the Anointed One and infused our lifeless souls with life—even though we were buried under mountains of sin—and saved us by His grace. He raised us up with Him and seated us in the heavenly realms with our beloved Jesus the Anointed, the Liberating King. He did this for a reason: so that for all eternity we will stand as a living testimony to the incredible riches of His grace and kindness that He freely gives to us by uniting us with Jesus the Anointed. For it’s by God’s grace that you have been saved. You receive it through faith. It was not our plan or our effort. It is God’s gift, pure and simple. You didn’t earn it, not one of us did, so don’t go around bragging that you must have done something amazing. For we are the product of His hand, heaven’s poetry etched on lives, created in the Anointed, Jesus, to accomplish the good works God arranged long ago.” -Ephesians 2:4-10 (VOICE)
“I have kept Him waiting when I ought not, but He has waited even then. Always waiting – so patient with my foolishness, my weakness, my fear. Our fellowship is with God, and fellowship is friendship, and friendship means that partnership which, on His part, is the accommodating of His strength to my weakness.” ~G. Campbell Morgan
David was just an ordinary guy, even though he was king of Israel. He wrote a whole Psalm about God being his justice and strength in some very trying times. The important thing is, David knew exactly who to turn to in his time of need. We would do well to learn a lesson from David’s example.
“To You, Adonai, I call—my Rock, do not be deaf to me.
If You were silent to me, I would become like those going down to the Pit.
Hear the sound of my pleas, when I cry to You for help,
when I lift up my hands toward Your holy Sanctuary.
Do not drag me away with the wicked and with doers of iniquity,
who speak peace with their neighbors, while evil is in their hearts.
Repay them for their deeds, their evil acts. Repay them for the deeds of their hands.
Bring back on them what they deserve. Since they show no regard for the deeds of Adonai
nor the work of His hands, He will tear them down and never build them up.
Blessed be Adonai, because He has heard the sound of my supplications.
Adonai is my strength and my shield. My heart trusts in Him, and I was helped.
Therefore my heart leaps for joy, and I will praise Him with my song.
Adonai is their strength—a stronghold of salvation for His anointed.
Save Your people, bless Your inheritance, shepherd them and carry them forever.” -Psalm 28 (Tree of Life Version)
“Do not strive in your own strength; cast yourself at the feet of the Lord Jesus, and wait upon Him in the sure confidence that He is with you, and works in you. Strive in prayer; let faith fill your heart-so will you be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might.” ~Andrew Murray
My friend, the Lord, Adonai–Tzva’ot, God Almighty, is our Strength, Salvation, and Victory. In times of difficulty, when we are at a loss, when we cannot go on, we need to remember, that He alone can bring the victory. When we are weak, He is strong. He is our Hope and our Salvation. Trust that the One True God will bring you through whatever it is that you are going through today. He loves you, and His intentions for your life are good, but it will be through His strength that those plans and purposes will come to pass. Trust Him.
“Remember, it is not your weakness that will get in the way of God’s working through you, but your delusions of strength. His strength is made perfect in our weakness! Point to His strength by being willing to admit your weakness.” ~Paul David Tripp
My Prayer:
Adonai–Tzva’ot, God Almighty, You are my Strength, Salvation and my Victory. I am learning that it is in my weakness that your strength is exemplified the most. I admit, I am weak, I am imperfect, I cannot save myself. You alone are the one who can save me, only you. I ask for your help. Please, in my weakness, be glorified. In my inabilities display your awesome power. I am trusting you, for you alone can bring the victory. Thank you, Lord, for being You, you are my Hope and my Salvation. ❤
Growing with God 