Worshiping a Good God
At the time of Isaiah writing this verse, God had already done so many things for the nation of Israel. He brought them out of Egypt, rescued them from some evil nations and kings, blessed them with some great leaders (and challenged them with some not-so-good ones). And that was just the beginning of His providence and provision. Israel had a lot to be thankful for.
As readers of this passage now, thousands of years in the future all across the globe, we can confidently say that God has done and continues to do wonderful things, especially sending His Son, Jesus, to die and rise again, saving us and giving us eternal life.
Even in the face of unimaginable tragedies, fear, anxiety, depression, and whatever else the devil throws at us, we still have a lot to be thankful for. Because God will never stop doing wonderful things—that’s just who He is. And He who called us is faithful (1 Thessalonians 5:24 NIV).
The Mission of God
All of our lives are spent on something.
Most people spend their days focused on growing a family, building a career, or amassing possessions. While none of those things are necessarily wrong, they can become distractions from our ultimate goal in life.
In the book of Acts, we see Paul’s transformation in Christ. As a result of meeting Jesus and being changed by His grace, Paul spends the rest of his life preaching the good news of Jesus.
For Paul, God’s grace and salvation were so great that nothing on this earth could compare to doing His work.
Paul said that nothing in his life mattered as much as telling others about God’s grace. His goal in life was to finish his own race well by faithfully accomplishing as much of the mission of God as possible:
"However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God's grace."
Acts 20:24 NIV
The mission of ...