Today’s Reading : Isaiah 45-48; I Corinthians 13
What is the first thing that’s on your mind in the morning? What is the first thing that you do in the morning? Do you sit in your bed, just wondering about today? Do you open up your phone to see what has happened over the evening? Do you open up your Bible app and read the verse of the day?
The things that we put first in our mind, our heart, and in our spirit tells us what we hold most dear. I am guilty of searching for things to take my attention. I have woken up to play games on my phone. I have woken up to read stories on my phone. I woken up to see what has gone on Facebook and other social media the first thing in the morning and throughout the day. But those things take away from my energy. There have been several times in my life that I’ve had to reset the button and refocus on God and his time in my life.
These two passages that we have today’s central theme is: What is In Your Heart.
In Isaiah, we see God showing us the awesome power that he has and gives us examples. He is exhibiting to Israel the magnitude of his power compared to the other gods of the land.
“For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my chosen, I call you by your name, I name you, though you do not know me. I am the Lord, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I equip you, though you do not know me, that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the Lord, and there is no other. I form light and create darkness; I make well-being and create calamity; I am the Lord, who does all these things.”
Isaiah 45:4-7 ESV
““Woe to him who strives with him who formed him, a pot among earthen pots! Does the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’ or ‘Your work has no handles’? Woe to him who says to a father, ‘What are you begetting?’ or to a woman, ‘With what are you in labor?’””
Isaiah 45:9-10 ESV
We see God is at the center of all of our being. He is is the one that created and creates constantly for us for his benefit. He has placed us in the center of his heart since the beginning of time. One illustration is that of the Father he is to us. From my experience as a father, you will constantly think of your children no matter how old they are or what they have done in their lives. You will always hold them in your heart regardless of the circumstances and situation. God holds us in his heart even more profoundly and passionately. This love is unimaginable.
This passage beautifully dovetails into I Corinthians 13. This is one of the most cherished and loved chapters in the Bible regarding love. Revisiting this chapter, I was reminded of several verses from my childhood. The first verse was a constant reminder that my grandmother would use throughout my entire life. The other verses have been used by me and others at different times of my life.
“When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.”
1 Corinthians 13:11 ESV
“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant
Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.
So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”
1 Corinthians 13:1, 4, 8, 13 ESV
These verses are small pieces to a major idea of God’s connection with us. When read individually, these words have a big impact, but when read and digested as a whole it is monumental. Paul is showing us truly how awesome God is. Even after Paul has been in the presence of Christ and has been in true communion with the God the Spirit (the Holy Spirit), he fully cannot comprehend the full awesomeness of God which is Love. Try to reread this chapter and replace love with God and you can truly see the depth and beauty of the chapter and of life.
“When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.”
1 Corinthians 13:11-12 ESV
What is in your heart? What is the first thing that you think about in the morning? Is there a song that you can think of that gets you into the space of love? Is there a verse that you can gravitate to in the morning? What if you started your day in this manner; how would your day, week, or month change with a renewing of your heart?
Be blessed