Isaiah 17:14: “Then behold, at eventide, trouble! / And before the morning, he is no more. / This is the portion of those who plunder us, / And the lot of those who rob us.”

August 11th, 2024 by Pastor Ed in devotional

This chapter described the coming destruction of Damascus, the capital of Syria (or Aram as it was called by the Assyrians), in 732 BC. In this verse God promised to protect His people. When the Assyrians tried to continue south, and attack Jerusalem, God intervened and destroyed the Syrian army in one evening: “at eventide, trouble!” The story is recorded in 2 Kings 18, and happened exactly as Isaiah prophesied. Assyria sent threatening  letters to Judah. King Hezekiah and Isaiah took the letters into the temple and prayed over them. They were literally laying their burdens and fear before the Lord. God heard their prayer, and that same evening sent a single angel from heaven to destroy 185,000 Syrian warriors in one night.

When we, as believers, face seemingly insurmountable opposition, do we give into our fear and try and solve things on our own, or do we first go straight to God and seek His help? We might try to make agreements with others or call in favors owed to us to fix our problems. But why not go to God first and rely on, cling to, and trust in Him? It is the difference between using the oars on a rowboat and using the sails on a sailboat. This is a simple illustration but consider the amount of work performed by the rower verses the sailor. The oarsman is utterly dependent upon human effort, whereas the sailor relies on the power of the wind. When we raise our sails in faith (seeking the Lord’s help), then the wind (the Spirit) catches them and supplies the power needed to move the boat (our lives and difficulties).

“LORD, we want to rely on You today to keep us on course and headed in the right direction, so that we can be of service to You.”