The Living God

"... I am God, and there is no other;  I am God, and there is no one like Me, Declaring the end from the beginning And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, 'My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure," (Isaiah 46:9b, 10).

Highlighted here are wondrous attributes of our God, calling us to look away from our selves, circumstances, surroundings, and fix our gaze on GOD.  And, it is not another quoting Him... it is He Himself asserting the truth of who He is!

First we are to worship Him in His uniqueness.  "...there is no other"  In four simple words the living God sweeps away all competition contrived by man for worship.  No human can calculate the number of gods (whether physical, mental, emotional or otherwise) humanity has devised in order to keep from worshiping the only true God.  Without exception, they can all be traced back to the living God's archenemy:  Satan.  His power is considerable, his ability to deceive amazingly adroit, and his rage against God and His children implacable.  Yet, he is a creature.  And as such, his strength is finite, his existence dependent upon God, and his interim victories serve only to highlight his prophesied doom, to the glory of the only God Who is.

Secondly, He precludes comparisons.  "...there is no one like Me"  As people, we live, eat, sleep, and breathe comparisons.  From earliest childhood, the wee one wants to know, "What is God like?"  Then begin the lifetime of analogies... He's like a father... He's like a grandfather... He's like the school teacher I had in 3rd grade... all because we haven't the nerve to admit "He's like no one, He's God."  
Of course, the most popular analogy among folks is anthropocentric: "He's like me."  Since "every man's ways are right in his own eyes"... and the promise of the serpent to Adam & Eve, "you will be like God" is still being lived out by humanity, at least two passages bear repeating:  "...You thought that I was like you..." (Psalm 50:21b); and "...My thoughts are not your thoughts, Neither are your ways My ways,' declares the LORD," (Isaiah 55:8).

Thirdly, God declares His omniscience.  "...declaring the end from the beginning..."  no Open Theism here, with God discovering what we will do only as it's happening.  No, the Creator of the universe, being as great in His minuteness as He is in His magnitude, knows any- and everything perfectly, with absolutely nothing escaping His awareness (Hebrews 4:13).  Such infinite knowledge also has implications for prophetic passages of Scripture.  Being from everlasting to everlasting, He knows no past nor future... all is an ongoing now.  Thus, His prophetic Word is completely trustworthy, since He has known and seen it from before time began.  

Finally, the LORD God of all that is asserts His incomparable sovereignty.  Only He is in ultimate and final control of every aspect of everything real and potential.  Only He can truly accomplish and establish all His decretive will, purposes, and pleasure.  Jeremiah rightly prayed, "Ah Lord God!  Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm!  Nothing is too difficult for You," (32:17).  
May we be granted grace to worship the one true God as He truly is, communicate Him to others as He is worthy, and serve Him in a manner that reveals His true character.