In That Day

“In that day the people will proclaim, “This is our God! We trusted in him, and he saved us! This is the Lord, in whom we trusted. Let us rejoice in the salvation he brings!” For the Lord’s hand of blessing will rest on Jerusalem. But Moab will be crushed. It will be like straw trampled down and left to rot. God will push down Moab’s people as a swimmer pushes down water with his hands. He will end their pride and all their evil works. The high walls of Moab will be demolished. They will be brought down to the ground, down into the dust.”
Isaiah 25:9-12 NLT

“This is our God! We trusted in him, and he saved us!” What a wonderful way to start our devotions today, with the thought that God has saved us. But we need to unpick this verse a bit to extract some more important messages. The first thought centres on “in that day”. Once again, Isaiah’s writings refer to a day when the world order will be destroyed, and it must have been of some importance because the phrase “in (or on) that day” occurs 57 times in the Book of Isaiah. God revealed to Isaiah some important truths about what was to come, and Isaiah faithfully wrote down what God revealed to him. But when will that day be? Of course, we don’t know, and Jesus said to His disciples, “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know” (Acts 1:7). In Matthew 24:6-8, Jesus set out some signs to look for: “And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately. Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world. But all this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come”. So the indications are that we are in the End Times, but, with more events scheduled to happen, we’re not there yet. John’s vision in the Book of Revelation is worth a read for the inquisitive. But, as any mother can tell us, the labour pains can come suddenly or can drag on for days. On the other side of all the End Time events yet to happen, though, there will be a people who will proclaim, “This is our God! We trusted in him, and he saved us!” 

What does it mean to trust in God? Trusting God means relying completely on His goodness, wisdom, and power, even when life is hard or uncertain. It is a daily choice to let go of control, stop worrying, and believe that His character and promises are true. But, human nature being what it is, we find that it is very hard to let go and trust someone else with our lives, both now and in the future. And if that Person we trust is God, who, in the natural, we can’t see or feel or communicate with, face to face… But that is when faith comes into play. The natural response, when we encounter hard and difficult times, is to cast around to find a human remedy. So when money is short, we head to the banks or moneylenders, or use our credit cards. If we are short of food, we think of the food banks. If we lose our jobs, we see what financial assistance, “benefits” we can receive from government agencies. If we are in danger of losing our homes, we think about alternatives, such as staying with relatives, or phone around to find another. But trusting in God means that we set aside our anxieties and instead look to God for a solution. Philippians 4:6, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done”. Jesus said, “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need” (Matthew 6:31-33). 

But trusting God also means that we must wait for His solution, and not try to get ahead of Him by producing an Ishmael. Remember the story? God promised Abraham a son, but after a few years of waiting, he and his wife hatched a plan to get one through Sarah’s servant. Ishmael duly appeared, but he wasn’t the son of the promise. That son, Isaac, was still to come. And, as we know, in this world, the consequences of producing an Ishmael still continue. Getting ahead of God would likely produce something second-best, not the perfect result our Heavenly Father has waiting for us. And in it all, when anxieties and problems emerge, as they will in this troubled and imperfect world, we learn the peace that comes from trusting in our Father with our lives and all that we are. After all, we know who controls this world, and we remain faithful and hopeful, calm in all the storms. 

The people will also proclaim “in that day” that God saved them. When God saves us, it means He rescues us from the punishment and power of sin through Jesus Christ. Salvation means that we are delivered from eternal death through our faith in Jesus, who granted us forgiveness and a new relationship with God. Think about it. All the sins, the things that we have done wrong, the thoughts that have polluted our minds, the failure to do what we should have done – the list is endless – have all been forgiven and erased from God’s Heavenly slate. Psalm 103:12, “He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west”. But it gets better. 2 Corinthians 5:21, “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ”. We pilgrims can now stand before God clothed with Jesus’ righteousness and adopted as His children. Romans 8:15, “So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father””.

Isaiah 25 ends with a warning to Moab, but “Moab” can be extended to include all people who refuse to trust in God. Their pompous pride and evil works get in the way. As with all unbelievers, their belief that they didn’t need to acknowledge the Lord God of Israel is their downfall. But He will knock down the fortification of their human walls and defeat them in His judgment. We all know someone in this category, I’m sure, and we must reach out to them with God’s love, sharing His message of hope and salvation, so that the Holy Spirit can bring conviction of their sin. 2 Peter 3:9, “The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent”. Yes, God’s patience is driven by His love and grace for human beings, and we must, in our capacity as His ambassadors to Planet Earth, extend the same.

So we end these devotions today echoing how we started, declaring that the Lord is our God, that we trust in Him, and thanking Him for our salvation. We are truly favoured as God’s children.

Dear Heavenly Father. As we draw to a close in another chapter in Isaiah, we thank You for the prophet and Your messages communicated through him. We thank You for Your Word, and the truths held within, so useful for helping us, and keeping us founded on the Rock who is Christ. Amen.