Exploring Isaiah 40:7-8

The most important place to begin in discipleship is the fact of the Sufficiency of the Word of God. If we cannot trust the Bible, then we cannot be resolved to obey its commands. The Word of God is the instruction that the Almighty God has given to us to follow. It is the Word of God that is a “Lamp unto our feet and a Light unto our path” (Psalm 119:105).

Understanding what it means to be an "Ambassador for Christ" begins in Isaiah 40. This Scripture gives to us an understanding of the necessity of the herald. In God’s Supreme, Divine and Providential plan, He has chosen to use His people for the declaration of the Gospel. The climax of the introduction in Isaiah 40 takes us into verse 9, which says, “Go on up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good news; lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah, ‘Behold your God!’” This is a clear command for the people of God to be heralds of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Leading into this command, we have an assurance to cling to. The message that we are proclaiming is not our own message. The Gospel that we are proclaiming is not our own Gospel. The declaration that we are heralding is not our own personal experience. Instead, it is the very Word of the Lord our God.

 “The grass withers…”
From the very outset of our calling as Heralds, we need to understand that our lives are but a vapor (James 4:14). We are here and gone. In 2 Corinthians 5:1-3, we will see that this earth is temporary, and for the believers, it is not our home. Our home is eternal in the Heavens with our Lord and Savior. But our selfish desires want to keep us here on this earth, because of the temptations of what we see. We allow our eyes to “turn to the left and to the right” (Joshua 1:6-9) instead of “setting our eyes on the things that are above” (Colossians 3). When we do this, we lose the focus of eternity. We need to realize that our lives are temporary.

“…the flower fades…”
Even the good things of this earth will pass away. Even your most profitable years will be short-lived and not eternal. Even the most beautiful mansion built here on this earth will not last forever. As a Herald, you will be used by God for “such a time as this,” but even this will be for but a split-second before your life is here and gone. We must set our gaze upon the face of Christ, understanding this life in reference to eternity.

“…but the word of our God will stand forever.”
The strength that we have in the message of the Gospel is that it is not our message. It is the Word of God that we are proclaiming. Although people will pass away — we will be here and gone — he Word of the Lord our God is from everlasting to everlasting. And because of this, we can trust the message that we are to herald.

As you continue to understand what it means that your life has been transformed by the Grace of God (“the old has passed away and the new has come”), there is much spiritual strength and confidence in knowing that the Word of God will stand forever. There is nothing in this world that will thwart the decree of the Almighty God. There is not another message that this world can produce, which will eliminate the message of the Gospel.

“The Lord our God, He is God; and there is no other” (1 Kings 8:56-61).