Lessons from Isaiah God’s Process The possibility of usefulness comes to us not in one great offer, but a constant succession of small opportunities. J. S. Shields April 22, 2018

Isaiah 55:8 For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, declares the LORD.

Isaiah 55:9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.

Isaiah 55:10 For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,

Isaiah 55:11 so shall My word be that goes out from My mouth; it shall not return to Me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

Isaiah 55:10 For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,

Job 35:25-26 Who has cleft a channel for the torrents of rain and a way for the thunderbolt, to bring rain on a land where no man is, on the desert in which there is no man,

Job 38:22 Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, or have you seen the storehouses of the hail,

Isaiah 55:11 so shall My word be that goes out from My mouth; it shall not return to Me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

Deuteronomy 32:2 Let my teaching drop as the rain, my speech distill as the dew, as the droplets on the fresh grass and as the showers on the herb.

Isaiah 40:8 The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.

Numbers 23:19 God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?

John 1:1-3 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made.

Revelation 19:13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which He is called is The Word of God.

Matthew 24:35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.

Luke 8:9-15 (11)Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God, (15)As for that in the good soil they are those that hear the word and hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

R. Tuck God’s Word is capable of endless transformations. God’s Word is indestructible.

Isaiah 55:11 so shall My word be that goes out from My mouth; it shall not return to Me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

God’s Word Transforms a sinner into a saint The weak into the strong The faint into a warrior The selfish into the self-less The stingy into being generous The harsh into being gracious Victims into victors Changes entire value systems

Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, Who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

For Our Consideration What season are you in? Is your mind being renewed in God’s Word on a regular basis? Do you believe that God is able to complete the work He has begun in you? Is there something that God wants to change in you and how do you think you would know?

Prayer Focus Thank You Father for Your Word that is able to change us moment by moment. Thank You for sending Your Son to save us and to reveal Who You are. Thank You for a new day to renew our commitment to You and Your thoughts and ways.