Where Else Will You Turn?
Jeremy Walker serves as a pastor of Maidenbower Baptist Church in Crawley, England, and is married to Alissa, with whom he enjoys the blessing of three children. He has authored several books, and is grateful to preach, teach, and write as opportunity provides.
This post is adapted from Jeremy’s upcoming 50-day devotional, A Word in Season: 50 Days of Hope for Hard Times. Click here to pre-order your copy today: A Word in Season
“Do not fear, nor be afraid; have I not told you from that time, and declared it? You are My witnesses. Is there a God besides Me? Indeed there is no other Rock; I know not one.”
Isaiah 44:8
Here is a pressing question for you—one that resonates with our times: Is there any God like the God of the Bible? Is there anyone who can rival him? Is there anyone who can be everything you need? Is there anyone who can do for you what God himself has promised? The prophet Isaiah asks and answers this question in various ways, and does so repeatedly throughout his prophecy.
Ever since Isaiah beheld the glory of the Lord, high and lifted up in the temple (as recorded in Isaiah 6), a conviction and awareness of the uniqueness of God’s majesty have gripped him. He is convinced that the one he deals with, whom he refers to as the Holy One of Israel, is unparalleled: There is none like him. The Lord, having provided Isaiah with that vision, employs his servant to impress upon his people again and again the supremacy of the God who has loved them, saved them, and made promises to them.
There is a similar question we need to face in Isaiah 44. The prophet speaks about the good things that God has promised to his people. Then, as he frequently does through Isaiah, the Lord challenges the people with questions and assertions. He is the First and the Last. Who can do what he has done? Who can provide what he has provided? Has he not demonstrated as well as declared, repeatedly, who he is and what he does (which reflects who he is)? Then, in Isaiah 44:8, the Lord poses that central question: “Is there a God besides Me?”
Where else will you go? To whom else will you turn? Where else will you look in time of need and in need of blessing? To whom else will you now go? What power can rival his? What wisdom can rival his? What love can rival his? What mercy can rival his? What history can rival the history of his dealings with his people? What faithfulness, what goodness, what kindness will you compare to his?
The Lord directs his people to reflect on the history of his dealings with them, to the revelation he has made of himself. Indeed, when Moses spoke to the people of God in Deuteronomy, he emphasized the contrast: “For their rock is not like our Rock, even our enemies themselves being judges” (Dt 32:31). This is the language that Isaiah echoes: “Indeed there is no other Rock; I know not one.”
God exercises his own omniscience. God assesses with perfect clarity all that could be imagined to rival him, and he himself declares, “There is no one like me.” There is no other rock, no other strength, no other foundation for your hope and confidence, no other refuge to which you can turn, no other anchor point to which you can tether. No one else can promise and do all he promises.
That presents both a challenge and a comfort to God’s people. It is challenging because, in this fallen world, we instinctively seek another rock, another refuge, another source of confidence. Time and again, we will be disappointed by that sinful pursuit, disappointed if we allow our eyes to drift away from God and onto other things as our source of hope. But it is also comforting because this is our God. He has undertaken to be with us and for us. With such a God as our Rock, we have all the confidence and joy we need.
Perhaps you are still looking for a rock. Perhaps you are still seeking a refuge, a foundation, or an anchor point. If you are, remember this: There is no other Rock. There is no God like the God of the Scriptures. None can stand alongside him; none stands above him, both to save and to bless.