Isaiah 51:6: “Lift up your eyes to the heavens, / And look on the earth beneath. / For the heavens will vanish away like smoke, / The earth will grow old like a garment, / And those who dwell in it will die in like manner; / But My salvation will be forever, / And My righteousness will not be abolished.”

September 14th, 2024 by Pastor Ed in devotional

In this chapter, our heavenly Father, through the prophet Isaiah, reminds us of eternity. He does so because our attention is so easily and so often diverted by the pressing problems of day-to-day living on this sin-filled, spinning blue marble of a planet called earth. By calling our attention back to eternity, He brings back to our minds the question we as believers should be asking ourselves daily: “Where are we investing our lives?” We have so many opportunities to choose between investing in things that will last for eternity and things that will last only for this lifetime. Jesus said:

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matt. 6:19–21)

God’s purpose for each of our lives is to prepare us to live with each other and Him in His kingdom for eternity. God said through the prophet Jeremiah: “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future'” (Jer. 29:11, NIV). Father God is actively devising and filtering every experience for our good. If we will submit to Him and His will for us, then He can use each and every event, storm, setback, and tragedy to pull us closer to Him and His ordained destiny for us. When we are rejected by others, abandoned, disrespected, and devalued, He will use it for good in our lives. God continually does this for us, not because we are good, but because He is good. Not because we deserve it, but simply because of His grace. We all stumble but God promises that He is able to get us home!

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling,
And to present you faultless
Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy . . .
Be glory and majesty,
Dominion and power,
Both now and forever.
Amen. (Jude 24–25)

So we ask ourselves again, in light of the reality of eternity and the majesty and power of our Creator, what are we investing our lives in today?

“LORD, help us to use this day to store up lasting things in our heavenly bank account.”