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Day 29 Isaiah 32 32:1 Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment. 2 And a man shall be as a hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land. 3 And the eyes of them that see shall not be dim, and the ears of them that hear shall hearken. 4 The heart also of the rash shall understand knowledge, and the tongue of the stammerers shall be ready to speak plainly. 5 The vile person shall be no more called liberal, nor the churl said to be bountiful. 6 For the vile person will speak villany, and his heart will work iniquity, to practice hypocrisy, and to utter error against the LORD, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail. 7 The instruments also of the churl are evil: he devises wicked devices to destroy the poor with lying words, even when the needy speaks right. 8 But the liberal devises liberal things; and by liberal things shall he stand. 9 Rise up, ye women that are at ease; hear my voice, ye careless daughters; give ear unto my speech. 10 Many days and years shall ye be troubled, ye careless women: for the vintage shall fail, the gathering shall not come. 11 Tremble, ye women that are at ease; be troubled, ye careless ones: strip you, and make you bare, and gird sackcloth upon your loins. 12 They shall lament for the teats, for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine. 13 Upon the land of my people shall come up thorns and briers; yea, upon all the houses of joy in the joyous city: 14 Because the palaces shall be forsaken; the multitude of the city shall be left; the forts and towers shall be for dens forever, a joy of wild asses, a pasture of flocks; 15 Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest. 16 Then judgment shall dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness remain in the fruitful field. 17 And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance forever. 18 And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places; 19 When it shall hail, coming down on the forest; and the city shall be low in a low place. 20 Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters, that send forth thither the feet of the ox and the ass. Do you feel overwhelmed by what you see, hear, and read in newspapers, on television, online, in social media? Threats of war, earthquakes, fires, flood, hurricanes, typhoons, all coming together at once so you don’t know which disaster to focus your attention on. It’s hard to find good news in the midst of so much trouble. God told Isaiah there would be a King who would reign in righteousness and princes would rule in judgment. There would be a time of peace, but it would come at a price. God gave Isaiah hope for the immediate future as well as what God told him regarding the end times. People need hope. We need to know there is something good going to happen, and that all the violence we see in the world will one day end, and peace will reign. It’s the cry on every lip. It’s in the heart of every person. Everyone wants peace. Everyone wants to see the end of suffering of every kind. We want to see violence ended. Jesus told us that what we are seeing now is only the beginning of sorrows. The end isn’t yet. Matthew 24:6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows. God told Isaiah peace would come and people would dwell in peaceable habitations. Revelation 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. 2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. 4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. 5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. (KJV) As Christians, we long for the day when God will bring an end to all the violence, when Jesus will rule and reign in New Jerusalem, and peace will be seen and felt, and joy will reign in the hearts and minds of everyone. What a glorious day that will be. Let’s pray: Father, let peace begin now in my heart and life. Let me bring peace where violence rules. Let me show love where hate abounds. Let me speak life into dead lives. Let your will be done on the earth. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen. Copyright © 18 September 2017 by Valerie Routhieaux Image courtesy of Pixabay