Isaiah 27

Isaiah 27:12-13 NIV

In that day the Lord  will thresh from the flowing Euphrates to the Wadi of Egypt, and you, Israel, will be gathered up one by one. And in that day a great trumpet will sound. Those who were perishing in Assyria and those who were exiled in Egypt will come and worship the Lord  on the holy mountain in Jerusalem.

"In that day..." Israel has had some rough times. She has been attacked, exiled, ravaged and burned, but never completely destroyed. God still has a plan for her. This phrase, "In that day..." is repeated four times in this chapter, twice at the beginning and twice at the end of the chapter. In the middle he says, "in days to come..." God still has a plan and a purpose. Enemies will be brought down. God's people will be restored.

Sometimes life throws crisis after crisis at us. All our efforts seem pointless. All our prayers appear unanswered. Our hope has almost slipped away. But, in that day... God has promised that he will never leave or forsake us. As the people of God we are never abandoned. There will be a day of reckoning. In that day all will come to light. In that day all will be restored. In that day life will again make sense.

It is interesting to me that prophetic passages like this bring fascination and curiosity to the table when believers are comfortable, but they bring comfort and hope to believers who are suffering. Perhaps as American Christians we have not experienced enough pain and opposition to really get the point of these passages. I wonder.

Father, forgive me for being more curious about when these things will happen, than expectant of them. May I live, walk and minster today in light of that day when you will set all things right.

By His grace,
Rick Weinert
District Superintendent
EFCA Northern Mtn District