SALVATION UNVEILED August 23, 2020

There is indeed an expiration date to things, whether they be food, other consumable items, interests or hobbies, activities and even preferences.  Somebody has wrote that a survey conducted showed many Americans are now getting tired of cooking at home.  I’m not sure if this is true anywhere else including our country, but I am pretty sure that some people I know (senior citizens and children most decidedly) are getting tired of being locked down for half a year now.  And so, a certain person said that maybe quarantine rules should be relaxed for those in their senior years who are still productively working.  Only those in the know and in power, and the experts in these things can say for sure if such a move would be advisable and reasonably enforceable.

 

I do know however, that there is one thing that the world needs to get tired of—embracing fake information, believing in false doctrine, following untrue philosophies, and living by principles that are totally lies or blatant misappropriations of what is true and right.

 

In the Word we read today, the Prophet Isaiah in chapter 25 started with a praise for GOD, for His wonderful name, His wonderful works, and His timeless counsels that are faithful and true (verse 1).  Then the prophet went on to say that this is because GOD has broken and destroyed a once powerful city so that it shall never be rebuilt (verse 2).  And then its people will start to glorify and fear Him (verse 3).  Then in their misery and desperation, the prophet declared that GOD “has been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall” (verse 4). 

 

GOD indeed is savior and refuge for all of us, regardless of our religious affiliations, in times of trouble, but only when we allow our old prejudices and pride to be stripped down and destroyed, and surrender our lives and souls to Him, rendering to Him holy fear and glory (verse 5).

 

Collectively as a community of nations we would do well to welcome His work in our lives too, for in verses 10 to 12, the prophet has declared, “for in this mountain (a place of power and authority—meaning that this spiritual, mental and intellectual transformation necessarily starts from those in leadership positions and authorities, down to the lowly citizen) shall the hand of the Lord rest, and Moab (representing the enemy that tempts, weakens and destroys GOD’s people) shall be trodden down under Him, even as straw is trodden down for the dunghill.  And He shall spread forth His hands in the midst of them, as he that swims spreads forth his hands to swim: and He shall bring down their pride together with the spoils of their hands.  And the fortress of the high fort (that on which people who are misled by the enemy falsely depend on for their security and source of strength and power) of your walls shall He bring down, lay low, and bring to the ground, even to the dust.”

 

In spite of there seeming to be no light yet at the end of the tunnel during this pandemic, we can derive hope from what the prophet declared as a time of celebration, for in verse 6 he described a feast unto all people.  And this will be ushered in by GOD who will “destroy on this mountain (the place of power and authority) the face of the covering cast over all people, and the veil that is spread over all nations (verse 7).  He will shallow up death in victory, and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of His people shall He take away from off all the earth: for the Lord had spoken it (verse 8). 

 

It might be that we have to live with this pandemic and the virus causing it yet, according to one infectious disease expert from a foreign land, but it is not actually a cause to despair but to rejoice, because even sickness and death are swallowed up in the victory declared by GOD over His people, if only they would allow Him to unveil their eyes from seeing His great plan and purpose for all of us.

 

And so we share in the prophet’s anticipation and patient hope when he said in verse 9: “and it shall be said in that day, this is our GOD; we have waited for Him, and He will save us:  this is the Lord; we have waited for Him, we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.”

 

The only way to survive sane and whole during these times of tribulation is to swim the murky tides of fear and despair powered by the strength we gain from GOD’s grace, and the hope we have in Him.  May we all realize and see that our only lifeline is when we put our trust in Him, our refuge, our deliverer, and one who will declare our salvation unveiled.