Behold, Behold, Behold!

“Go on up to a high mountain,
O Zion, herald of good news;
lift up your voice with strength,
O Jerusalem, herald of good news;
lift it up, fear not;
say,.. “Behold your God!”
Behold, the Lord God comes with might,
and his arm rules for him;
behold, his reward is with him,
and his recompense before him.
He will tend his flock like a shepherd;
he will gather the lambs in his arms;
he will carry them in his bosom,
and gently lead those that are with young.

“Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand
and marked off the heavens with a span,
enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure
and weighed the mountains in scales
and the hills in a balance?
Who has measured the Spirit of the Lord,
or what man shows him his counsel?
Whom did he consult,
and who made him understand?
Who taught him the path of justice,
and taught him knowledge,
and showed him the way of understanding?..

“To whom then will you compare me,
that I should be like him? says the Holy One.
Lift up your eyes on high and see:
who created these?
He who brings out their host by number,
calling them all by name;
by the greatness of his might
and because he is strong in power,
not one is missing…

“Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.” Isaiah 40:9-14,25-26,28-29

The cry to God’s people is up, get you up a high mountain and lift your voice, call to all, Behold your God! Look at Him! Ponder Him! Gaze in awe at who He is, the Lord GOD, mighty sovereign self-existent Ruler! He is who He is and always has been, the God of gods, supreme and supernatural, wholly other and apart yet intimately involved with you. And keep watching! Behold what He does as He tends and provides, leads and holds and protects His own. Consider how He crafted the heavens and earth and measured the seas, how He balances gravity and weight and upholds spinning heavenly orbs. Think how He instilled in the heart of man a sense of justice, conscience, thought processes, delight, the intersection of senses. Look at Him, to Him! Behold, and marvel! (Colossians 1:15-17)

As we behold, we see more of God and less of self. We learn awe and to worship Him for who He is separate from us, whether we ever existed. He becomes more, we less. The more acquainted we are, the more we magnify His greatness and character, long for Him and to be like Him and to know Him better. (John 3:30)

How can my thoughts be lifted by getting high and away with Jesus? How might beholding my King and Shepherd affect how I manage responsibilities, family, friends? What do others behold of Christ in me?

Lord, quiet me daily to behold who You are and what You do, all of You in (and to) Your glory.