Thank you for faithfully listening to the audio version of Our Daily Bread.
I'm Matt Lucas, President of Our Daily Bread Ministries. Although the ministry has always been focused on making the life-changing wisdom of the Bible understandable and accessible to all, we have a renewed commitment to helping you develop a deeper and more meaningful relationship with Jesus as you listen and read scripture with Our Daily Bread. To do that, we're making some changes to the audio format that we believe will encourage you to have a more thoughtful and reflective devotional time. You'll notice these changes starting the 1st of January, and we pray that they are beneficial as you read and listen and then reflect and respond to the message. Your friendship, prayers, and generosity allow us to make the Bible a vital part of everyday life for more people around the world.
Thank you. Welcome on this last day of the year to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread. I'm Amy Boucher-Pye, and I called our reading, The Hand of God. In 1939, with the recent outbreak of war for Britain, King George VI sought in his Christmas Day radio broadcast to encourage citizens of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth to put their trust in God. Quoting a poem that his mother found precious, he said, He didn't know what the New Year would bring, but he trusted God to guide and uphold them in the anxious days ahead. The image of God's hand appears in many places in the Bible, including in the book of Isaiah. Through this prophet, God called his people to trust that he as their creator, the first and the last, would remain involved with them. As he says in Isaiah chapter 48 verse 13, My own hand laid the foundations of the earth, and my right hand spread out the heavens. They should put their trust in him and not look to those less powerful.
After all, he's their Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. Whatever we face as we look toward the New Year, we can follow the encouragement of King George and the prophet Isaiah and place our hope and trust in God. Then for us too, our peace will be like the river, our well-being like the waves of the sea.
Our passage from the Bible today is from Isaiah chapter 48 verses 12 through 19. Listen to me, Jacob, Israel, whom I have called. I am he, I am the first, and I am the last. My own hand laid the foundations of the earth, and my right hand spread out the heavens. When I summon them, they all stand up together.
Come together, all of you, and listen. Which of the idols has foretold these things? The Lord's chosen ally will carry out his purpose against Babylon.
His arm will be against the Babylonians. I, even I, have spoken. Yes, I have called him. I will bring him, and he will succeed in his mission. Come near to me and listen to this. From the first announcement, I have not spoken in secret.
At the time it happens, I am there. And now the sovereign Lord has sent me, endowed with his Spirit. This is what the Lord says, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go. If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like the river, your well-being like the waves of the sea.
Your descendants would have been like the sand, your children like its numberless grains. Their name would never be blotted out, nor destroyed from before me. I welcome you to join me in praying. All-powerful God, you created the heavens and the earth, and yet you cherish us. On this brink of the New Year, we place our trust and our hope in you. And we pray in the precious name of Jesus. Amen. Thank you so much for listening, and Happy New Year! Today's encouragement was provided by Our Daily Bread Ministries.
Whisper: medium.en / 2024-12-30 20:23:53 / 2024-12-30 20:25:55 / 2