Prophetic Perspective for Tremulous Times
The Lord sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers...He brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing. No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown, no sooner do they take root in the ground, than he blows on them and they wither, and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.
Isaiah 40:22-24
We’re coming out of one of the most contentious elections of our lifetimes. As I write this a couple of weeks before the polls close, I have no idea what the outcome will be. However, based upon what I’ve seen and heard so far, it’s not likely to be pretty.
No matter who the winner is, there will be MANY who will be angry, fearful, and even despairing. Their world will be shaken. Their hopes will have been dashed.
Knowing this, I began to ask God what He might want to say to us on this pivotal day.
The Lord then reminded me that we aren’t the first people to experience this sort of thing. The Old Testament prophet Isaiah lived in tremulous times. Everything around him seemed shaky.
Israel’s leadership was inconsistent at best and evil at worst. At the same time, the nation’s enemies were powerful and threatened her borders.
Things seemed to be spiraling out of control.
What’s worse, God’s people started to believe that either He didn’t care about their circumstances or He was incapable of doing anything about them. They struggled to keep the faith, growing weary, discouraged, and hopeless.
It was then that Isaiah offered some prophetic perspective. Take a look at these excerpts from the 40th chapter of the book that bears his name.
Now, I know you’re going to be tempted to skim through this.
Don’t. Please.
Read it slowly. Carefully. Listen for what the Lord might want to draw to your attention.
9 You who bring good news to Zion,
go up on a high mountain.
You who bring good news to Jerusalem,
lift up your voice with a shout,
lift it up, do not be afraid;
say to the towns of Judah, “Here is your God!”
12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand,
or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?
Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket,
or weighed the mountains on the scales
and the hills in a balance?
13 Who can fathom the Spirit of the Lord,
or instruct the Lord as his counselor?
14 Whom did the Lord consult to enlighten him,
and who taught him the right way?
Who was it that taught him knowledge,
or showed him the path of understanding?
15 Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket;
they are regarded as dust on the scales;
he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust.
21 Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
22 He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth,
and its people are like grasshoppers.
He stretches out the heavens like a canopy,
and spreads them out like a tent to live in.
23 He brings princes to naught
and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.
24 No sooner are they planted,
no sooner are they sown,
no sooner do they take root in the ground,
than he blows on them and they wither,
and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.
27 Why do you complain, Jacob?
Why do you say, Israel,
“My way is hidden from the Lord;
my cause is disregarded by my God”?
28 Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
29 He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
30 Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
31 but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
Now…having read these words silently, let me encourage you to go back and read them again – out loud and with some passion.
I don’t know about you, but in reading these words, the uncertainty of these days… the discouragement and the disillusionment…gets rightsized. It’s not a denial of this earthly reality but rather, the acknowledgment of a greater, heavenly reality.
No matter what these days may hold for us as a nation, we need not be shaken. Why? Because our God is not shaken! And THAT is something worth celebrating because, in the end, it makes all of us winners.
No matter what these days may hold for us as a nation, we need not be shaken. Why? Because our God is not shaken!
PRAYER
Lord, I would lift my eyes above that which swirls around me and see that You reign. You sit on the throne. Your plans will not be thwarted, and Your purposes will not go unfulfilled. Thank You for that ultimate win.
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