Isaiah 24:1,4: “Behold, the LORD makes the earth empty and makes it waste, / Distorts its surface / And scatters abroad its inhabitants . . . / The earth mourns and fades away, / The world languishes and fades away; / The haughty people of the earth languish.”

August 18th, 2024 by Pastor Ed in devotional

These verses begin what we understand to be a prophecy of the last days, when the Lord will once again deal severely with the whole earth as He did in Noah’s day, but not with a flood of water. In the New Testament Book of Revelation, chapter 6 predicts a seven-year judgment of God, which will begin with the destruction of one-quarter of the earth’s population. Jesus told us: “Pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things” (Luke 21:36). This should be the prayer of every believer alive today as we approach the day when this prophecy will begin to be fulfilled. It is of course not the planet itself but the people of the earth who are the objects of God’s judgment, because they are haughty and arrogant toward their Creator.

A 5-year-old boy came to his mother and said, “Mom, I am as tall as Goliath. I am 9-feet high.” “What makes you say that?” asked his surprised mother. “Well, I made a little ruler of my own and measured myself with it, and it says I am 9-feet high!” There are way too many people who follow this little boy’s method of measuring their lives. If we measure ourselves by a ruler of our own making, we will get an incorrect answer every time. But when we compare ourselves with God’s measurements, we find we are short of the mark every time: “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). How we respond to God’s measuring stick reveals the attitude of our heart toward Him. Are we haughty and arrogant, or do we recognize the great need for repentance in our lives every day?

“LORD, please forgive our sins again this day, and use us to share Your love with others.”