Nicole’s e-Pistle “God Made Me”

October 14, 2026

Greetings, Friends!

One of our members stopped by to see me this morning and shared a local video that has gone viral on social media. The video was taken during a worship service in our former church building and features preschool-aged children singing a song about God’s love. In it, a blond little boy screams at the top of his lungs, “God made ME… GOD MADE ME!! IN THE SACRED BOOK IT SAYS THAT GOD MADE ME!!” His little face turned beet red, and the little girl next to him pouted her lips, put her finger in her mouth, and quietly walked away back to her parents in the pews.

Much of the book of Isaiah is set against a backdrop of the Assyrian threat against Judah and Jerusalem. Scholars divide the book into three distinct sections, based on this historic backdrop. First Isaiah, which includes chapters 1-39, was written in response to the Assyrian conquest of Israel and Judah in 720 BCE, Judah’s rebellion in 704 BCE, and the near destruction of Jerusalem in 701 BCE when Assyria regained control in the region. Isaiah prophesied that this conquest was a direct punishment by God for Judah’s social and religious failures. Second Isaiah, chapters 40-55, addresses the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem a century later in 587 BCE. Here, Isaiah responds to the doubts of Judean deportees after several decades of exile in Babylon, attempting to inspire trust in YHWH’s compassion for them. Finally, Third Isaiah, chapters 56-66 predicts the return of the exiles to the land that was promised to them. In history, this return happened after Persia conquered Babylon in 539 BCE. Over time, the Judean deportees returned to Jerusalem and rebuilt the temple. Isaiah preaches faith amid uncertainty, giving voice to the people’s disappointments as well as offering hope for the future.

(As a sidebar, the real Isaiah prophesied in Jerusalem between 740 and 700 BCE, yet the Biblical texts of Second and Third Isaiah move past him by centuries. The texts were likely added by scribes who edited and expanded older prophecies and added new ones until the book reached its current condition.)

Second Isaiah begins in the midst of the turmoil and strife of exile in Babylon, and Isaiah 40:9 encourages the people to lift up their voices with strength to declare God’s good news without fear…

Get you 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, do not fear;
say to the cities of Judah,
“Here is your God!”

Isaiah 12:6 says, “Shout aloud and sing for joy, O royal Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.”

When life’s troubles seem overwhelming, we have several choices before us. We can attempt to pretend the trouble is not there, like an ostrich with our heads in the sand. We can act like the little girl in the worship service, whose exuberant counterpart proved too much for her as she quietly exited the scene. Or we can shout from a high mountain the good news, that GOD MADE ME!!

We have each of us been made in the image of God our Creator. We have God’s Spirit dwelling in each one of us, comforting us through uncertain times and providing guidance to our weary souls. We also have hands and feet that our Savior Jesus Christ has commanded that we use to love one another well. It is more important than ever that we remember to put our faith in our Triune God, not in the workings of human history or culture or politics. It is important, of course, to use our voices at the ballot box (early voting began yesterday), but even there, our faith does not lie in the little black marks we make on the digital page, but in the One who exists beyond the pages of our own stories.

Blessings and Peace,