Morning by Morning, September 11 - Even "On a Day of Great Slaughter, when the Towers Fall" God is with Us
"Truly, O people of Zion, inhabitants of Jerusalem, you shall weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry; when He hears it, He will answer you. Though the Lord may give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide Himself any more, but your eyes shall see your Teacher. And when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left, your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, 'This is the way; walk in it.' Then you will defile your silver-covered idols and your gold-plated images. You will scatter them like filthy rags; you will say to them, 'Away with you.' He will give rain for seed with which you sow the ground, and grain, the produce of the ground, which will be rich and plenteous. On that day your cattle will graze in broad pastures; and the oxen and donkeys that till the ground will eat silage, which has been winnowed with shovel and fork. On every lofty mountain and every high hill there will be brooks running with water -- on a day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall. Moreover the light of the moon will be like the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be sevenfold, like the light of seven days, on the day when the Lord binds up the injuries of His people, and heals the wounds inflicted by His blow" (Isaiah 30:19-26).
On this day of 9-11, forever written into our hearts as a nation and sealed with the scars upon our land, may we humble ourselves to seek Your face and pray. In the mysteries of good and evil, of divine protection and divine judgment, of the consequences of both humility and pride, of obedience and rebellion, of hope and despair, may we turn to the One who's heart toward us is to bind up our injuries and heal our wounds. May we listen for the One who longs to speak to us, saying, "This is the way; walk in it."
As I listen, I believe I hear You saying in my heart, to me and to my nation: "This is the way; walk in it. This is My hand to restore and redeem you; embrace it. This is My desire to honor you as you honor Me; trust it. This is My invitation to lift you up as you humble yourself in My sight; receive it." ...
Yes, Lord.... We need You. Apart from You, we can do nothing (John 15:5). And by Your mercy and grace, we never have to be apart from You. You never leave us, nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). Though our enemy comes in like a flood, You raise up a banner over us (Isaiah 59:19). Even when we "make room for the devil" by opening doors to the darkness and closing doors to Your Light in our hearts or in our land, even when we "grieve the Holy Spirit" by disobedience or rebellion or indifference, You remind us we are still "marked with a seal for the day of redemption" (Ephesians 4:25-32). Even when suffer the consequences of our actions in our generation and the generations before us, You always love us and long to restore us (Isaiah 30:18; Psalm 103:8-14).
You're always calling out to us to remind us to humble ourselves and pray, to repent of our sins and call on Your name, that You may forgive us and comfort us and heal us and restore us to our identity and destiny as the people of God who are called by Your name (2 Chronicles 7:14). You're always speaking to us, "This is the way, walk in it" (Isaiah 30:21). Knowing Your heart to redeem and restore, to seek out what was lost, to set things right again, "we can say with confidence, 'The Lord is my Helper; I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?" (Hebrews 13:6).
Even "when the towers fall," You are our security and strength, our resilience and redeemer, because our hope, our faith, and our trust is in You. "Lead me to the rock that is higher than I; for You are my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy" (Psalm 61:2-3). "The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run into it and they are safe" (Proverbs 18:10). O Lord our God, You are our Strong Tower that shall never fall.
No, towers may fall, the kingdoms of this world may come and go, but You will never fall (Revelation 11:15). Your love will never fail (1 Corinthians 13:8) and Your word will never fail (Luke 1:37). May we be the ones who fall -- who fall before You in humility, repentance, and prayer, that You may lift us up again to fulfill our purpose and destiny in You (Ephesians 1:11). When we humble ourselves in Your sight, You lift us up (James 4:10). When we are lifted up in You, we can be all You created us to be -- "a light to the nations, that (Your) salvation may reach to the ends of the earth" (Isaiah 49:6), a "city built on a hill (that) cannot be hid" (Matthew 5:14). Lord, let it be so. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
My friend, may we join together in the humility and repentance of faith for the healing of our land and the fulfilling of our destiny to be a light to the nations and a city on a hill, that God's salvation may reach to the ends of the earth, in Jesus' name. God bless you, my friend!
Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries
Healing from the Inside Out
Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries
4 Dominion Drive, Building 1
San Antonio, Texas 78257
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