God Is the Main Actor

January 17
Week 3 – Do Not Trust the Nations

“Hear the noise on the mountains! Listen, as the vast armies march! It is the noise and shouting of many nations. The Lord of Heaven’s Armies has called this army together. They come from distant countries, from beyond the farthest horizons. They are the Lord’s weapons to carry out his anger. With them he will destroy the whole land.” Isaiah‬ ‭13‬:‭4‬-‭5‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“Babylon, the most glorious of kingdoms, the flower of Chaldean pride, will be devastated like Sodom and Gomorrah when God destroyed them.” Isaiah‬ ‭13‬:‭19‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.” 1 John‬ ‭2‬:‭17‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Break It Down

Before we go any further in this section of Isaiah, we need to name something clearly.

God is the Main Actor.

Isaiah does not present a world where God is reacting to events as they unfold. He presents a world where God is active, intentional, and sovereign. Nations rise because He allows it. Nations fall because He acts.

Isaiah 13 opens this entire section (chapters 13–23) by making that unmistakably clear. If we miss this, we will misunderstand everything that follows.

This is not a collection of political observations. This is God speaking about what He is doing in the world.

Trust Question

Take a minute. Who do you actually see as the main actor in the world, and in your life?

God’s Intention

Isaiah points to Babylon and calls it the most glorious of kingdoms. At the time, that would have sounded completely reasonable. Babylon was powerful, wealthy, admired, and feared.

But Babylon’s glory did not collapse because it ran its course. It collapsed because God acted. And this is where the pieces come together.

Human pride does not exist in a vacuum. It exists in a world where God is present and active. And when pride places itself at the centre, God does not simply step aside.

He weighs it. He judges it. And He exposes it.

Glory has no weight apart from God because God is the one who assigns weight in the first place.

This is why trusting nations, systems, or human strength is ultimately misplaced. Not because they are unimpressive, but because they are not sovereign.

Weave It In

John echoes this same reality when he reminds us that the world and everything people crave is passing away. That isn’t pessimism. It’s a right perspective.

Only God acts with permanence. Only God carries lasting authority. Only God’s purposes endure.

Isaiah will later mock idols sharply because they cannot act. They cannot speak. They cannot save. And yet people bow to them as though they were alive.

Isaiah wants us to see the contrast clearly. The living God acts. Everything else is weightless by comparison.

Practice for Today

Before we rush past this, let’s bring it down into everyday life.

If God is the main actor, then this isn’t just a theological idea. That fact should shape how we live, what we listen to, and where we look for guidance, right?

So pause today and ask yourself honestly. Where might God be calling you to remember that He is the main actor? And what does that look like, practically?

Is it in the voices you give weight to? The things you look to for reassurance or direction? The places you go when you feel uncertain, anxious, or out of control?

Sometimes it shows up quietly. We have a tendency to trust trends, systems, forecasts, or opinions more than we realise. We look for certainty in things that feel tangible or immediate. We act as though everything rests on our understanding, our effort and our control.

But if God really is the Creator of the universe, if He truly spoke the world into being, if He truly sent His Son so that we might know Him, then we don’t need to try to be God ourselves.

We don’t need to carry the weight of the world. We don’t need to have all the answers.
We are invited to trust the One who is already acting.

Let this be a moment of realignment. As we remember who is actually at the centre of it all.

Prayer

Father God, forgive us for living as though You are distant or passive. Help us to see that You are alive, present, active and at work.

Re-centre our trust in You. Teach us to rest in the truth that You are the main actor.

In Jesus name we pray, Amen.