Pr Joshua Yong

Isa 40:28 – “Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.”

God is everlasting. That means that He is without beginning or ending; there is no beginning to His existence and there will be no ending of it. This is a truth that is very hard for man to grasp, simply because the moment we are born, we enter into a world where we perceive everything within the realm of space and time. Yet, God is eternal, where He is not limited or affected by time. Hence, God does not see time, the way we experience time. God is not bound by the past or the future. He is the everlasting God. But what does this truth mean to us?

There are several important applications we can make in light of the truth that God is everlasting.

1)  Our Acknowledging of our Everlasting God

When the prophet Isaiah described God as the everlasting God, He wanted God’s people to have the right view of God. The only way we can have a right view of God is to study what God has revealed to us concerning who He is. We must not fashion our understanding of God according to our own imagination; and we must not judge God according to our own minds. The gods and idols of the heathens are created by their worshippers. They have been fashioned by the hands of man. But the one living and true

God is the Creator of the ends of the earth. God is the Creator of all, and He was not created by any.

We have lost the sense of the everlasting nature of God because we sometimes use the expression “everlasting” or “forever” in a way which does not mean “forever” or “everlasting.” There are also those who have also reduced the meaning of the word “everlasting” to mean something that is less than “everlasting” because they are unable to understand what it means for God to be everlasting. Because of their limited understanding, they have chosen to take a lower view of God rather than to admit their own ignorance.

There are also some who think that God is always developing with the times. They think that their understanding of God must change with the times. These people say that how we understand God in the 21^st Century, must not be the same as how people who lived in the 1^st Century understood God. They say that the modern man must adopt a modern view and understanding of God. What they have failed to understand is that God is the everlasting God, and His Word and His truth remains ever the same.

What the prophet Isaiah has declared here is that God is the everlasting God and therefore we must yield and submit to Him because “there is no searching of His ways.” Time moves on and kingdoms of man come and go, but God ever remains as the everlasting God. This is the first truth that every child of God must acknowledge.

2)  Our Assurance in our Everlasting God

The second thing that we notice here is that, in light of the everlasting nature of God, the prophet Isaiah, tells us that God will never faint and He will never grow weary. God will never grow tired or exhausted. God is the everlasting God, who is also not affected by age or time as man would be. We as human beings will age and grow old. As we advance in years, we will find that the youthful strength and energy which we once had will wane and fail. In Psalm 90:10, Moses said, “The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.” As human beings, we are affected by age and time. It is noteworthy, that in this same Psalm, Moses contrasted the passing years of man with the eternality of God. In Psalm 90:2, Moses declared, “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.” Because God is everlasting and He is not bound by time, God will never grow old and will never diminish in power and might.

It is in light of this truth that the prophet Isaiah tells us that we must wait upon the Lord and in Him, we will find a fresh supply of renewing strength. Isaiah 40:29 -31 – “He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” To wait upon the Lord means to trust in the Lord’s timing. At times when we face very trying circumstances, we may wonder why does God not deliver us out of such trials immediately. When our minds are filled with such thoughts, we may be tempted to murmur and complain. It is during such times where we have to remember that God is the everlasting God and His purposes will unfold according to the time which He has determined. When we face with such struggles, we must wait upon the everlasting God, and as God renews our strength in Him, we will find His grace sufficient for us to bear the trials and run the race.

When we think of how God is our everlasting God, what is very comforting and assuring is also that we know that our past, present and future are all known to Him and are all ordained by Him. We don’t know what the future holds. When we do not know what tomorrow brings, it may cause us to be anxious and worried. Sometimes, knowing what will happen in the future, can also bring much trouble to the mind. There are already enough burdens and cares to bear for today. If God were to reveal to us what will happen tomorrow, or what will unfold next month, or the next year, we will be so overwhelmed. Our faith is not yet ready to bear what will come in the future and that is why God has not revealed those things to us. God’s timing is the best. Yet in the meantime, while we do not know what the future holds, because God is our everlasting God, we know that He holds the future. There is nothing that will catch God by surprise. There is nothing that is not already ordained by Him and known unto Him.

The truth that God is everlasting is beyond what the mind can fully comprehend, yet, God has revealed this truth to us in His Word and what God has revealed must encourage and comfort us. This truth must move us to bow down and acknowledge our God for He is great. At the same time, this truth is a wonderful assurance to us as His children, for God is our everlasting Heavenly Father.