What will you do on the day of reckoning, when disaster comes from afar? To whom will you run for help? Where will you leave your riches? (Isaiah 10:3)
It’s tempting sometimes to believe that we have a lot of say in what goes on in our lives and in the world. While we do have some level of freedom in our lives, Isaiah reminds us that God is ultimately the One in control. Yes, we have daily choices that give us the illusion of being in charge, but God seems to have a way of using His sovereignty to make things work out the way He desires.
Israel was to be taken into captivity because of their sins. They had turned away from the Lord, and now they would have no one to turn to for help. After all, God is the ruler of all things. He is the mighty One against whom no other god can stand. When Israel turned away from the Lord, she literally had no one else to turn to.
However, God’s ultimate plan (which we have the privilege of seeing through hindsight) was to redeem Israel and the whole world, including us non-Jews. God’s judgment came to the people He used to punish Israel (the Assyrians and later the Babylonians), and once again the power play was in His hands.
Choose as you like, but in the end God will have His way… not as a forceful dictator who imposes His will onto ours but as a gentleman who gives us appropriate opportunity to respond on our own and then takes the situation into His hands to give Himself the honor and glory.
Father, if I don’t turn to You, there is no one else to whom I can turn. Let my life be one of humility before You – always eager to submit my will to Yours. Be pleased to let Your will be made known to me, and give me a desire to fulfill it.
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