Isaiah 33:1-2, 5-6:
Distress and HelpApplication: Most all of us, if we live long enough, will have experienced being betrayed or having betrayed someone we love – breaking of vows, contracts, covenants, and/or agreements between or among people. Betrayal destroys trust in relationships. And, trust takes time to be restored. Forgiveness can be immediate, but trust is something that must be rebuilt over time. Forgiveness affords that opportunity for the restoring of relationships and that rebuilding of trust. Yet, we can never place our absolute 100% trust in other human beings, because we are all sinners and are thus subject to failure. So, we place our trust in the Lord and we place those failed relationships in his hands, as well, and trust him to work in all of our hearts. We can long for human relationships, thinking they will satisfy our needs and desires, but humans will fail us at some time or another, and we will fail those who place their trust in us, too, because we are sinners. So, that is why our ultimate faith, hope and trust must be placed in the One who will never fail us – Jesus Christ.
1 Woe to you, O destroyer,
you who have not been destroyed!
Woe to you, O traitor,
you who have not been betrayed!
When you stop destroying,
you will be destroyed;
when you stop betraying,
you will be betrayed.
2 O LORD, be gracious to us;
we long for you.
Be our strength every morning,
our salvation in time of distress.
5 The LORD is exalted, for he dwells on high;
he will fill Zion with justice and righteousness.
6 He will be the sure foundation for your times,
a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge;
the fear of the LORD is the key to this treasure.
We need to long for Jesus Christ, for he will be gracious to us in our time of need. He will be our daily strength that we need in order to endure whatever life may throw at us, and he will be the one who delivers (saves) us out of giving into feelings of fear and distress, as we place our confidence in him to work out everything in our lives for his purposes and his glory. God is absolutely sovereign over everything that goes on in our lives, and nothing comes into our lives but what he allows it, and that he allows it for a purpose - to grow us, to mature us, to strengthen us in the faith, and to make us holy. He is our sure foundation always, but especially we can know and can rely upon that sure foundation when everything else around us is crumbling or is falling apart by the seams. We can come to him in the fear of (awe, respect, humble obedience to, submission and surrender to) the Lord, and he will give us this treasure of salvation, wisdom and knowledge for eternity and for living out our daily lives in peace and security in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
Isaiah 33:13-16:
13 You who are far away, hear what I have done;Application: As we know, God is a loving parent and we are his children. A loving parent understands that correction and discipline are just as much a part of loving a child as is spending time, nurturing, feeding, cuddling, reading, and playing, et al, with our children. So, when God sees us going astray and we don’t respond to his gentle whispers, there comes a time when he will allow us to go through difficulties as his loving discipline and correction in our lives in order to bring us back into a right relationship with him. This does not mean that all difficulties are God’s punishment for sin in our lives, for even the righteous go through hard times, but it does mean that God allows hardships to draw us to himself.
you who are near, acknowledge my power!
14 The sinners in Zion are terrified;
trembling grips the godless:
“Who of us can dwell with the consuming fire?
Who of us can dwell with everlasting burning?”
15 He who walks righteously
and speaks what is right,
who rejects gain from extortion
and keeps his hand from accepting bribes,
who stops his ears against plots of murder
and shuts his eyes against contemplating evil—
16 this is the man who will dwell on the heights,
whose refuge will be the mountain fortress.
His bread will be supplied,
and water will not fail him.
Those who can endure these times of loving discipline are those who walk righteously and who do and speak what is right, who reject sin and sinful behaviors, and who shut our ears and eyes to what is sinful, i.e. not taking into our ears and eyes the sinful behaviors of others by choice, such as not listening to gossip or hateful speech, or not watching TV or movies that glorify sin to where, by our watching, we are giving approval to the sin, especially if we are being entertained by it. This is the person who will find his security in the Lord Jesus Christ, in whom he or she will find refuge in times of personal storms or in need, and it is there, in relationship with Jesus Christ, that our needs will be supplied.
Isaiah 33:17-24:
17 Your eyes will see the king in his beauty
and view a land that stretches afar.
18 In your thoughts you will ponder the former terror:
“Where is that chief officer?
Where is the one who took the revenue?
Where is the officer in charge of the towers?”
19 You will see those arrogant people no more,
those people of an obscure speech,
with their strange, incomprehensible tongue.
20 Look upon Zion, the city of our festivals;
your eyes will see Jerusalem,
a peaceful abode, a tent that will not be moved;
its stakes will never be pulled up,
nor any of its ropes broken.
21 There the LORD will be our Mighty One.
It will be like a place of broad rivers and streams.
No galley with oars will ride them,
no mighty ship will sail them.
22 For the LORD is our judge,
the LORD is our lawgiver,
the LORD is our king;
it is he who will save us.
23 Your rigging hangs loose:
The mast is not held secure,
the sail is not spread.
Then an abundance of spoils will be divided
and even the lame will carry off plunder.
24 No one living in Zion will say, “I am ill”;
and the sins of those who dwell there will be forgiven.
Application: I think of the story here of Peter walking on the water to come to Jesus. As long as his eyes were on Jesus, instead of on the wind and waves, he was able to walk above the circumstances of his life, but as soon as he got his eyes off of Jesus and onto the waves, he began to drown. That is what happens to us, too, when we take our eyes off of our King in his beauty, majesty, power and dominion, and we begin to focus on our circumstances that are all around us, and then they begin to consume us and we begin to drown in them, which brings on feelings of loneliness, sadness, hopelessness and despair.
Yet, when we look to Jesus and we keep our eyes focused on him, then we can still see our circumstances, only we now see them through our Jesus filter, i.e. we will realize that God is in control of all things, that nothing in our lives has escaped his notice and that he is able to handle anything in our lives if we just surrender to him (the fear of the Lord) and humbly admit our need of him. We will look through eyes with eternity’s values in view, looking to our future hope of glory with God forever; looking unto our salvation and our relationship with Jesus Christ, knowing that we have a dwelling place with God that cannot be moved. Its stakes will never be pulled up and its ropes will never be broken, i.e. God will never break his covenant with us, he will always be faithful and truthful, and we can depend upon him always to be who he says he is and to do what he says he will do. He is our King who saves us and who forgives all our sins when we put our trust in him and we honor him as the holy God that he is by turning from our sins and by following him in obedience.
When You’re Lonely / An Original Work / May 14, 2011
When you’re lonely, needing a friend,
His love will comfort you; give peace within;
Providing His grace; keep you from sin;
Jesus, our Savior, Master and friend.
If you call Him to meet your need,
He will be there to bring understanding;
Offering His love and compassion,
As we seek Jesus, turning from sin.
He wants your heart and devotion
Committed to Him in full obedience.
Give Him your whole life, a sacrifice,
Forsaking the world; live to please God.
Song Lyrics @ Public Domain
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