The desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.
Say to those with fearful hearts,
“Be strong, do not fear;
your God will come,
he will come with vengeance;
with divine retribution
he will come to save you.” Isaiah 35:4 NIV
What are we to tell these fearful hearts?
- Your God will come. That’s a promise you can take to the bank.
- He will come with a vengeance. He will avenge you against your enemies. He’ll come with divine repayment. We don’t have to even think about revenge. Our enemies can be people, but can also be The Enemy and all the various temptations that are thrown at us.
- He will come with divine retribution. There will be a pay-back time.
- He will come to save you. The word used for save is so rich! He’ll come to help, deliver, defend, bring to a place of safety or into a broad pasture as opposed to a narrow strait which is symbolic of distress and danger. He’ll save us from tribulation, spiritual death, our enemies, and the penalty of sin. This is NOT some sort of guarantee of a pain-free life, but refers to the help God gives us in those situations. Sometimes the help is external and sometimes it is internal. Either way, we will bloom again!
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