https://odb.org/MY/2022/09/07/finding-refuge
I woke up this morning to heavy rain beating the windows at my balcony (which we had installed to close it off as an internal space) and despite the double glazed sliding doors and the windows at the balcony, I could hear the rain pouring down. Not loud but loud enough to know that it was heavy. Fortunately, for me it was a storm. Like the writer of today’s ODB at an old seaside hotel which faced a strong storm, I know that it will pass after a few hours. At certain places, nowadays a few hours of very heavy rain may bring flash floods and landslides and in Pakistan like Germany a few years back, the heavy rains brought disastrous consequences. Unlike Germany, Pakistan is in a worse situation with nearly 1/3rd of the country under water, inundated.
However, as much as natural rain and storms may bring us harm, it is surely not as scary and terrifying like the attack of the Assyrians on Jerusalem during the time of Isaiah the Prophet. In those ancient times, the defence of a city against an invading army is its city walls and if we are inside the city under siege, we will be praying hard that the walls will hold. Jerusalem had city walls. Castles had their own castle walls. China built the Great Wall over years across thousands of miles to ward off the invading Mongols.
Greater than the wall of Jerusalem itself is the God of Israel. Thus they pray not only that the walls will hold but their God the Great I Am will protect and repel their enemies. But if we read Isaiah 25 carefully, as much as Isaiah proclaims that the LORD will bring them victory, the LORD through His Prophet alludes to that day when He will prepare a feast of rich foods for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine, the best of meats and the finest wines and He will destroy the shroud that covers all peoples and will swallow up death forever. The sovereign God will wipe away the tears from all faces and will remove the disgrace of His people from all the earth. Jerusalem may fall to the Assyrians (which it did) and yet the day will come when they will have victory.
As much as we want to survive all storms that come our way as Jesus is with us in the boat, history has shown that there are storms that will overcome us. Jerusalem had fallen to the Assyrians and the Babylonians but today it is still alive and thriving as a nation. As believers we know that there are storms in life that will overcome us and yet like Isaiah had proclaimed, we know that the day will come when there will be that great feast of the best meats and the finest wines. If we survive the storms, well and good but if we don’t, don’t lose heart as the day of redemption and glory will come! The important thing is our faith in Christ remains intact and strong!
Ronnie's Thoughts 