Isaiah 24:3-5- The earth will be completely emptied and looted. The LORD has spoken! The earth dries up, the crops wither, the skies refuse to rain. The earth suffers for the sins of its people, for they have twisted the instructions of God, violated his laws, and broken his everlasting covenant.
It must have been really hard for Isaiah to deliver these words to everyone. He spoke of the time when Earth as we know it will be destroyed. It would dry up…refuse to rain….and be completely emptied. God would reach his limits …and bring about a time of judgment for all.
I thought of the promise that God made to Noah in Genesis…and said to myself surely not. But then I remembered his words to Noah were that he would not destroy every living creature. This passage says that he is only going to destroy the Earth…the people would remain to suffer from the sparseness of the land.
Perhaps God did this on a smaller scale in Isaiah’s day….but I believe that we still have a similar time to come. You can read more about the details in Revelation. It’s gonna be super bad for anyone left on the Earth. My heart wants to believe that God will rapture me up before it happens…but the Bible is confusing about those details…and I may be left to prove my faith is strong enough….perhaps using me to help others during this horrible time.
That thought reminds me of the last visit he had with his disciples before his ascension. Luke 24:47 records his words just before he blessed them and told them to expect the Holy Spirit to embed them with the same power he had used while he was here. It says…. “With my authority, take this message of repentance to all the nations, beginning in Jerusalem: 'There is forgiveness of sins for all who turn to me.'”
That message was for me…and anyone else who has given their heart and life to God. We were charged with the task of spreading his gospel. We were charged with the task of healing the sick and broken. We were charged to continue the work that Jesus modeled for us during his 33 years on Earth. Just read Matthew 28:19-20….or Matthew 10:1 …or 2 Timothy 4:1-2…or Mark 16:15…or Galatians 6:9….or Psalm 96:3…or John 20:19-23…or 2 Thessalonians 2:14-15…or 1 Corinthians 11:1-2 to name just a few places in the Bible he left as our guidebook.
Father…thank you for the reminder that I was given life to realize the great sacrifice you made to save me…and use my tie here on Earth to spread the power of salvation to others. Forgive me for not taking the charge to spread your gospel seriously enough in my 55 years of life. Help me to focus more on you so I can be a more effective vessel of your love. Help me to never forget that a time is coming when you will judge me…so that I will always keep my eyes and heart focused on you. Use me Lord…oh use me to do the work you have planned. Open my ears and eyes and heart to hear you clearly all the time. Amen.
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