I read a story concerning a contest
where artists had been challenged to create a painting portraying the concept
of peace. A large cash prize would be
given to the winner. The painting which
the judges selected, at first, seemed a total contradiction to the intended
subject. It was a canvas covered with
dark colors—a painting of ominous clouds, torrential rain illumined by a streak
of lightning, barren cliffs battered by wind-whipped waves—how could this
picture peace? A closer look, brought
the eyes to rest on a white dove, perched inside the cleft of the rock, secure
in the nest. It was serene, safe—a
tempest raging, yet the small bird was at rest.
That is real peace.
It is real because this is the way life
is. While we thank God for sunny summer
days, and picnics in the park, we also understand that storms spring up
suddenly, even violently, and we must grab up the food and blanket from the
green grass where it was spread, hastening to shelter. Life is that way.
You can feel fine today, and tomorrow’s
annual physical can reveal the presence of a life-threatening disease. You may walk into work this morning to
collect a good paycheck and walk out this afternoon with a dreaded pink
slip. You can pack the car for a
fun-filled vacation and only a few miles down the road find yourself sweltering
in heat on the side of the road, as the car has broken down. That’s life.
It is not life as God meant for it to
be. All He made, He pronounced to be,“Good.” He created man and woman and proclaimed
joyfully, “Very good!” Then sin came, and
with it the curse—all the ruinous results of our rebellion against God. Creation is now in bondage and groans under
the sentence of decay and death. The
peace of Paradise was plucked like a flower’s
fragrant bloom by the hand of a mean little boy, thrown to the ground and
stomped under foot.
But, God had a plan to restore peace.
Isaiah has painted a dark picture—the
Day of the Lord will bring His wrath on the wicked. In chapter twenty three of today’s study, we
read of God’s intent to pour out His fury on the city of Tyre
and ancient Phoenicia
That illustrates a global judgment
impending and the ultimate victory of God over sin as described in chapters
twenty four through twenty six of today’s reading. We dare not minimize the scope of the
storm. It will be worse than anything
this world has known—a different and yet greater cataclysm than even the flood
that swept the sinful away in Noah’s day—and that was quite a storm! Consider what is coming, and I am convinced
coming soon:
“Look, the Lord
is stripping the earth bare and making it
desolate. He
will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants:
people and priest alike, servant and
master,
female servant and mistress, buyer and seller, lender and borrower, creditor and debtor.
female servant and mistress, buyer and seller, lender and borrower, creditor and debtor.
The earth will be stripped completely
bare and will be totally plundered,
for the Lord has spoken this message.
The earth mourns and withers;
the world wastes away and withers; the
exalted people of the earth waste away. The earth is polluted by its inhabitants,
for they have transgressed teachings, overstepped
decrees, and broken the everlasting covenant.
Therefore a curse has
consumed the earth, and its
inhabitants have become guilty; the earth's
inhabitants have been burned, and only a few
survive.” (Isaiah 24:1-6 HCSB)
What a horrible storm! But, God promises the rainbow after the
rain. On the other side of gloom there
is glory! Contemplate this:
“Yahweh, You
are my God; I will exalt You. I will praise
Your name, for You have accomplished wonders,
plans [formed] long ago, with perfect faithfulness.
For You have turned
the city into a pile of rocks, a fortified
city, into ruins; the fortress of barbarians is no
longer a city; it will never be rebuilt.
Therefore, a strong people
will honor You. The
cities of violent nations will fear You. For You have been a stronghold for the poor,
a stronghold for the needy person in his distress,
a refuge from the rain, a shade from the heat. When the
breath of the violent
is like rain [against] a wall, like
heat in a dry land, You subdue the
uproar of barbarians. As the shade
of a cloud [cools] the heat of the day, [so] He
silences the song of the violent.
The Lord of Hosts will prepare a feast
for all the peoples on this mountain—a feast of aged wine,
choice meat, finely aged wine. On this mountain [He]
will destroy the [burial] shroud, the shroud
over all the peoples, the sheet
covering all the nations; He will
destroy death forever. The
Lord God will wipe away the tears
from every face and remove His people's disgrace from the whole earth, for the Lord has spoken.
from every face and remove His people's disgrace from the whole earth, for the Lord has spoken.
On that day it will be said,
‘Look, this is our God; we
have waited for Him, and He has saved us. This is the
Lord; we have waited for Him. Let us rejoice
and be glad in His salvation.’” (Isaiah 25:1-9 HCSB)
Our peace rests in the promise of
God. The storm is certainly coming. We feel the strong winds. We see sheets of rain coming across the mountains. The thunder echoes violently through the
valleys, as lightning leaps from the dark clouds to the strike the ground. The last storm, it would seem, is about to
break.
But, we need not be seized by
fear. We do not have to succumb to
dread. There is serenity in the
storm! The Great Physician writes out
His prescription for peace:
“You will keep
the mind [that is] dependent [on You] in
perfect peace, for it is trusting in You. Trust in the Lord forever, because
in Yah, the Lord, is an everlasting rock!”
(Isaiah 26:3-4 HCSB)
There is PROTECTION in God’s
supernatural peace: “You will keep the mind…” (v.3a). He puts His dear dove
that He loves in the cleft of the Rock.
Our minds do not have to be given to fear, they can be guarded by faith.
There is POSITION in God’s supernatural
peace: “that is dependent [on You],” (v.3b).
People who position himself or herself as humble servants, know God’s
will is not something to dread, but delight in.
We do not seek to fly through the storm, but flee for refuge in the
storm—resting in Him.
There is PROVISION in God’s
supernatural peace: “in perfect peace,” (v.3c).
This is not some “positive thinking” we conjure up that denies the
reality of the storm. No, it is the gift
of a gracious God—not natural, but supernatural. It is something the world can’t give, but,
therefore, the world cannot take away. Jesus
pledged, “Peace I leave
with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Your
heart must not be troubled or fearful.” (John 14:27 HCSB)
There
is PERSUASION in God’s supernatural peace: “for it is
trusting in You. Trust in the Lord forever,
because in Yah, the Lord, is an everlasting rock!”
(v.3d-4) Fully persuaded, persistently
resting in God’s assurances. We are in
the hollow of that Rock—an everlasting shelter that winds cannot move and waves
cannot wear away.
“Standing on the promises that
cannot fail,
When the howling storms of doubt and fear assail,
By the living Word of God I shall prevail,
Standing on the promises of God.” (Russell Carter)
When the howling storms of doubt and fear assail,
By the living Word of God I shall prevail,
Standing on the promises of God.” (Russell Carter)
There
is serenity in the storm!
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