Even in unpredictable times and difficult days, thank the Lord!
By Dean Collins
Have you ever lived in the shadow of an unpredictable power structure or leader?
You really didn’t know what would happen next? We all have lived long enough to have seen dramatic world events and political unrest both in our country and around the world. Now to be sure, none of us are particularly comfortable with change. When it happens it might be our tendency to project onto a leader evil intent, whether there was or wasn’t any known negative intention. But separate from our tendency to project, we do live in a time when so much is, in fact, unpredictable.
Isaiah wrote in a time period much like the one I am describing. The Assyrians were the dominant power, and the people of Judah and Jerusalem felt vulnerable to what the Assyrians might do next. Into this instability Isaiah spoke these words of a time in the future:
“I will give thanks to you O Lord.”
The people of Judah could not see a good outcome ahead, yet the prophet insisted there would be a day when they would look back and express gratitude for what God did for them. And he did it even though they had many times disobeyed, and in their disobedience even angered God at their stubborn and willful words and behavior.
We must cling to Isaiah’s words and speak them to our souls as we declare them to the God of our salvation:
“I will trust and will not be afraid for the Lord God is my strength and my song.”
Isaiah said there will be a time in the future when you look back and say these things. But in the whole context of Scripture, I cannot find any reason why we would not choose to proclaim these words today. Right now in the middle of the unpredictable. When things are not obvious. While fear and anxiety rise. When grief knocks on the door of our hearts. Now is the time to find salvation for the soul. Now is the time to proclaim what is true and will always be true. God is sovereign and worthy of our trust and praise.
It may not feel true today. We may not be able to verbalize today, yet we will gladly extol God’s strength and sustenance in the future day when everything broken is restored and everything lost is found. The day is coming when we will join the people of Judah and Jerusalem in this proclamation:
“With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.”
There is no lasting hope anywhere else. There is no reservoir of salvation to be found except in the mighty hands of God by way of the grace, forgiveness, and healing offered to us in his son, Jesus.
The psalms remind us that our God is above every power structure in the world. His ways are better than any politician’s ways. His outcomes are fairer than those of any political party. His righteousness and justice are better than any political system or power. And he alone is worthy of our praise and our trust.
This week as you consider the things you are thankful for, begin by declaring your gratitude to God for who is is, for what he has done, and what he will do.
Your time with God’s Word
Isaiah 12:1-6; Psalms 113:1-9 ESV
Photo by No Revisions on Unsplash
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