“The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.”
– Isaiah 40:8
Think about all the things around you right now. Obviously, I don’t know where you are, sitting or standing or walking right now, but look around you in the world and see all the things that will fade away, grass, flowers, all kinds of things in nature and the world around us, but even just think about the temporary nature of jobs, like at some point you’re not going to have the job you have, the temporary nature of health. You have a certain level of health now. It’s going to fade. I don’t mean to be depressing, but it’s going to fade.
Isaiah 40:8 Reminds Us the World Is Going to Fade
Live today for that which will matter forever by spending time in God’s everlasting Word.
You think about some of the most basic things, even the things you find pleasure in right now that are going to fade in this world, so think about that. That’s what Isaiah is doing, or God is saying through Isaiah, “Look around you at all the things that fade in the world. Then, look at the Word of God and know it will never fade. It will stand forever.”
In this, to realize the wonder of God’s word and the value of spending time in it. You want to live today for that which is going to matter forever? You want to live today for that which is going to matter ten trillion years from now? Then spend time in God’s word. It is going to last forever.
Isaiah 40:8 Reminds Us To Praise God for His Word
God, we praise you for your word. We praise you for this word that we are hearing right now from Isaiah 40 about your word. God, your words are true, and your words are lasting. They last forever. They’re a rock that we can stand on today, they’re a rock that we can stand on tomorrow, and they’re a rock that we will be standing on ten trillion years from now so, God, help us to value your word.
This Verse Reminds Us To Ask God for Help Obeying His Word
God, please keep us from going through our days without listening to your word. Especially, keep us, oh, God, from going through our days without banking our lives on your word. We need your word. It is good now. It is good forever, so help us to read it. Help us to study it. Help us to understand it. Help us to memorize it. Help us to hide it in our hearts, to meditate on it. God, help us to obey it. We know that eternal life, everlasting life is found in obedience to your word.
God, we praise you for this gift of your word, the word of our God that we have. How accessible it is to us! We have it in our hands that we can hold. We have it on our phones. We can always be in your word so, God, help us to always be in your word in the Deuteronomy 6 kind of way. Help us to talk about it all the time, to hide it in our hearts, to put it before us all the time. God, we pray you’d help us to live today for that which is going to matter in eternity and, in that, help us to live, listening to and obeying your word because it will stand forever. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
David Platt serves as a Lead Pastor for McLean Bible Church. He is also the Founder of Radical, an organization that makes Jesus known among the nations.
David received his B.A. from the University of Georgia and M.Div., Th.M., and Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Some of his published works include Radical, Radical Together, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Don’t Hold Back, and How to Read the Bible.
He lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area with his wife and children.
