Monday Morning Devo - The Edge of the Storm, Part 6

Therefore the strong people will glorify You; The city of the terrible nations will fear You. For You have been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat; For the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall. Isaiah 25:3-4, NKJV

Isaiah varied his prophesies between storms and rainbows; have you ever noticed? He told Israel about the coming devastation from Babylonia, but he reassured them that after that storm Israel would once again triumph.

That defeat and exile into Babylon actually strengthened the Jews. Before this terrible storm, their worship of God and compliance with feast days had been perfunctory. They'd gone through the rituals and then gone on with their everyday lives as though the celebrations had been as important and lasting as a belch after a good meal.

Yesterday we had communion at church. A piece of bread, a sip of wine (or juice), a moment of time kneeling--and then out into the world. Am I unchanged by that short ceremony? Are you? Do you remember the sacrifice it symbolizes? That was the storm to end all storms.

And the rainbow comes--the promise of resurrection.

All the nations now glorify Him. Maybe not everyone in each nation, but a remnant is there. Sometimes hidden, but growing stronger. Adversity--storms--always make us stronger. That old saying about what doesn't kill us makes us stronger? It's true. The storms make us stronger.

Next time you're in the middle of a storm, remember--you'll come out stronger. The resurrection, the return to home, will happen.

Jesus, You alone are the resurrection, the truth, and the life. You are the only way. You are the author and finisher of our faith. You are our refuge. You are our shade. You are the strength of the needy and the poor. You are that You are, now and forever. Thank You. Amen.