November 28: ANYWAY . . . (part 2)
For the LORD spoke thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people: “Do not say, ‘A conspiracy,’ concerning all that this people call a conspiracy, Nor be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled. The LORD of hosts, Him you shall hallow; Let Him be your fear, And let Him be your dread. He will be as a sanctuary, But a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense to both the houses of Israel, As a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.” Isaiah 8:11-14
The fear and dread of what other people think is one of Satan’s tactics to manipulate. There is great value in the foretelling and the forthtelling of prophecy. Our God, in His omniscience, knows how the influences of His archenemy intertwined with the free will of man will play out. He is actively involved in the affairs of man, lending support and encouragement to all who exercise their will to align with His principles (see 2 Chronicles 16:9). He has placed within every person the choice-making ability to resist the wide array of enemy tactics—some blatant and easy to call out, others deceptively subtle—that have rendered our world a minefield of explosive and deadly traps.
True prophets are instruments in God’s hand to not only inform us of future events — foretelling — but, more importantly, to help us understand needed corrections to our paths — forthtelling — so that the personal decisions we make daily will guide us onto the “right side of history”. Prophecy is not mainly about the “gloom and doom” that Satan has brought and continues to bring onto the world; it is about overcoming the enemy’s devices in his wicked attempts to sever our relationship with the Creator, who is also the Savior who died to set us free of every scheme of the enemy. The same LORD who inspired Isaiah wants to bless each of us permanently, eternally. In these last days, we have the benefit of looking back upon the Savior’s life as the perfect example. He said, “In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33b).
In other words, all of God’s perfect intentions toward His creatures will be obscured by the enemy of souls. Unbiblical ideas, misguided policies, all manner of diseases and suffering are going to occur in this world under the influence of you-know-who. This is why bad things happen anyway. Satan is attempting to manipulate, deceive, or force us to become a part of what he is about. But there is a much bigger ANYWAY: Before our world was created, the Creator resolved to enter into it as one of us, and overcome every tactic of the great rebel. We are graciously given the “heads up” so that we also may overcome… The Lord is “on to” Satan’s schemes and we can be too.
Our loving Lord can enable us to make a break from destructive ways so widely accepted and promoted in our world — if we will only allow Him to do so. And many of them shall stumble; They shall fall and be broken, Be snared and taken (Isaiah 8:15). And now, prayerfully ponder these words spoken by Jesus (about Himself) to the chief priests and elders of His day…
“And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.” Matthew 21:44 (see also 1 Peter 2:4-8)