Isaiah: Mount Up and Fly!

Isaiah 40:15-31

Which countries make up the wealthiest in the world? Based on the Gross National Product, here are the top five, according to a 2025 study by the World Population Review.[1]

1. United States—$26.9T
   
2. China—$18.9T
3. Japan—$4.9T
   
4. Germany—$4.6T
   
5. India—$3.6T

Think about all that goes into those trillions of dollars—commerce, trade, exports, natural resources, production, military, etc. Think about the status and power that goes with all that revenue. And…here’s how impressed God is.

Isaiah 40:15-17
Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as the dust on the scales . . . All the nations are as nothing before him, they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness.

You can’t help but laugh to yourself when you read that. We think we’re big stuff. However, God says, compared to me and my power and my plans…you are like a drop of water disappearing into the bottom of a bucket. That truth is important for us to know today, and it was important for the recipients of this prophecy. The initial audience was battling the Assyrian Empire, and later those who truly took these words to heart were in captivity in Babylon.

As we continue of study of Isaiah 40, to this point, here’s what we’ve learned:

• God is bringing comfort and encouragement to his people (Isa. 40:2).
• God is bringing his people home from captivity (Isa. 40:3-5).
• God’s promises will stand true and stand forever (Isa. 40:6-8).
• Our God is the God of strength and power (Isa. 40:10).
• Our God is the gentle Shepherd (Isaiah 40:11).
• Our God is sovereign over all (Isa. 40:12-19).
• Our God is the Maker of heaven and earth (Isa. 40:12).
• Our God is omniscient (Isa. 40:13-14).

Let’s pick up where we left off last time at Isaiah 40:15.

In Isaiah 40:12-19, a series of rhetorical questions forces us to grapple face-to-face with the Person of God. In response to the fact that all nations (including their rulers, resources, and power) are like a drop in the bucket in God’s eyes, Isaiah asks:

“To whom then will you liken God, or what likeness compare with him?” (Isa. 40:18).

Isaiah mockingly says that maybe we could compare God to an idol; a lifeless idol made by human hands, consisting of metal and wood, unable to move from wherever it is placed (Isa. 40:19-20). The self-existent God vs. a worthless, lifeless, manmade idol!

Isaiah 40:21-24
Do you not know? Do you not hear? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to dwell in; who brings princes to nothing, and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness. Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth, when he blows on them, and they wither, and the tempest carries them off like stubble.

The great rulers, the ones who conquered, reigned, and sat on thrones, are like grasshoppers in God’s sight and are brought to nothing. Why would we ever put our trust in grasshoppers!?

Now God is back to bookend the question he asked in Isaiah 40:18, “’To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him?’ says the Holy One” (Isa. 40:25). God is the One who created the stars, named each one of them and keeps them in place. “Because he is strong in power, not one is missing” (Isa. 40:26).

Let’s pause here and put Isaiah 40:26 into perspective. God created all the stars, gave each one a name, and keeps them in their places. So, how many stars are there? Only 200 sextillion, that’s a 2 followed by 23 zeros! There are about 100 billion stars in the Milky Way, including the sun.[2] Using the Milky Way as the model, scientists multiply the number of stars in a typical galaxy (100 billion) by the number of galaxies in the universe (2 trillion).[3]

Is your mind blown yet? Mine is. But here is another way to think about it. If you gathered the water in all the oceans of the world, measured it out in one cup increments, and multiplied that by ten, then you would have 200 sextillion cups of water.[4]

Returning to God’s question, based on his power to create, name, and maintain 200 sextillion stars, “To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him? says the Holy One” (Isa. 40:25).

When you are feeling discouraged, worn down, stalled, abandoned—remember the God who created the stars and all of creation is the same God who identifies with you, whoever you are and wherever you are, and desires to be your Shepherd. He is the “everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.” He gives strength to those who are worn out. He is the One who renews us inside and out. Here’s our Anchor Point from Isaiah 40:28-31.

Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

PERSONAL TIME WITH GOD
Time in the Word: Read and reflect on Isaiah 40:16-31. Read through our Anchor Point—Isaiah 40:28-31. What a promise! God will provide you with all you need!

Talking to God: Pray Isaiah 40:28-31 to God. Let him know that you are tired and worn down, and you need to mount up and fly! You need him to renew your strength. Renew means “to fly along” and “to cause to succeed.” That’s what we need from God.

Have Questions?
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Every day is a day of spiritual renewal as we follow hard after Jesus.