The Ruthless

Isaiah 25 says Therefore strong peoples will honor you; cities of ruthless nations will revere you. You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in their distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat. For the breath of the ruthless is like a storm driving against a wall and like the heat of the desert. You silence the uproar of foreigners; as heat is reduced by the shadow of a cloud, so the song of the ruthless is stilled.

A long passage to share, but a good one.

Look at the imagery here.  Breath of the ruthless being compared to a driving storm against a wall and the heat of the desert.  That sounds awful, doesn’t it? There are times when we feel like we are up against a wall and waters are rising and we have nowhere to go or swim.  And other times we feel as dry and parched as a wandering lost person in a desert, dying for thirst. 

That’s the kind of world we live in, one where ruthless nations rule. 

But it’s only for a season.  There’s only so much roaring that will be allowed to deafen our ears. 

There’s coming a day when He will be honored and revered as God over the nations and the earth.  The intense heat will be reduced by the shadow of a cloud.  And that cloud will bring the promise of rain that soaks, not destroys.  Rain that satisfies and doesn’t bring fear.

It’s hard to focus on the deliverer when we are in crisis.  It really is.  But we must.  We must believe and trust in our deliverer, because He will come and rescue us and restore us and still the song of the ruthless.