The end and the beginning

The book of Isaiah contains some of the most powerful prophetic passages in all of Scripture, revealing not just immediate circumstances for God's people, but sweeping visions of the distant future. In chapters 33-35, we encounter a remarkable progression: the end of one empire, the end of all earthly kingdoms as we know them, and finally, a glorious new beginning that awaits those who trust in God.

When Everything Seems Lost

Imagine standing in Jerusalem, watching the most powerful military force of your time surrounding your city. The Assyrian army—ruthless, unstoppable, victorious everywhere they've marched—now has you trapped. Your leaders tried everything: alliances with Egypt that failed, payments to buy peace that were rejected. Every human strategy has crumbled. You have nowhere left to turn.

This is the context of Isaiah 33, and it's in this moment of absolute desperation that we hear one of the most important prayers in Scripture: "Lord, be gracious to us. We long for you. Be our strength every morning, our salvation in time of distress."

Notice the humility in this prayer. Isaiah doesn't demand anything from God. He doesn't claim the people deserve rescue. Instead, he asks for grace—unmerited favor—because he understands a fundamental truth: we never deserve God's intervention. If God gave us what we truly deserved based on our faithfulness, we'd all be in serious trouble.

The Daily Strength We Need

What's particularly striking is the phrase "be our strength every morning." It's easy to understand why someone facing an invading army would pray this way. But this should be the prayer of every believer, every single day—not just in crisis.

We can make the mistake of only calling on God to be our strength when we're facing obvious trials. But if we want that to be our instinctive response during distress, we need to develop the habit of seeking His strength daily. After all, a morning that starts peacefully can turn chaotic by noon. We need God's strength not just when we see the storm coming, but every moment.

The Israelites learned a hard lesson: their only hope was God. King Hezekiah had tried trusting in Egypt, then in bribing Assyria, but both strategies failed spectacularly. Sometimes God has to strip away everything we're relying on—our plans, our resources, our clever strategies—until we finally understand that He alone is our salvation.

When God Rises Up

Here's something remarkable about God's perspective: from His viewpoint, the destruction of the Assyrian Empire was already accomplished, even though it wouldn't physically happen for another ninety years. God exists outside of time, so when He makes a promise, it's as good as done.

This has profound implications for how we understand God's promises in our own lives. When Scripture says "My God shall supply all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus," that's not just a hopeful wish. God already knows your need before it arises. He already knows how He's going to meet it. From His perspective, it's already handled.

The passage says, "When you stand up, the nations flee." God doesn't need our help to accomplish His purposes. When He acts, everyone knows it's Him. The angel He sent destroyed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers in one night. Can you imagine the shockwave that sent throughout the ancient world? Nations everywhere would have been talking about what the God of Israel did.

The Challenge of Waiting

Of course, we don't always see God working. That's one of the hardest parts of faith. We're in a situation where we desperately need God to act, and from our perspective, nothing seems to be happening. This can lead us to mistakenly think God has forgotten us or isn't doing anything.

But God is always at work. Always. He's working in your life, around you, and through you—even when you can't see it. Often, He's working behind the scenes, changing hearts (including yours), shifting circumstances, preparing people and situations. The work of changing a heart takes time. If it takes God a while to change your heart about something, why would we expect it to be instantaneous in others?

But here's the promise: when God rises up, when He finally acts in a way that's visible, you'll know it. Everyone will know it.

The End of Nations

Isaiah 34 shifts from the immediate threat of Assyria to something far more comprehensive: God's judgment on all the nations of the world. This passage points forward to what we call the Tribulation period—a seven-year span of time when God will accomplish two primary purposes.

First, He will bring the nation of Israel to repentance and acceptance of Jesus as the promised Messiah. Second, He will judge the nations of the world for their sin. Just as God once judged the world with a flood in Noah's day because of humanity's wickedness, He will again judge the world when sin reaches its full measure.

The description is sobering. The Battle of Armageddon, when the armies of the world gather against Israel only to face the returning Christ, will result in thorough devastation. The nations as we know them today will not survive this judgment. It's a complete end to the current world order.

A New Beginning

But here's where the story gets beautiful. Isaiah 35 doesn't leave us with destruction. Instead, it reveals a glorious new beginning—the Millennial Kingdom, when Christ will rule and reign on earth.

"Even the wilderness and desert will be glad in those days. The wasteland will rejoice and blossom with spring crocuses." Physical creation itself will be transformed. Deserts will bloom. The blind will see. The deaf will hear. The lame will leap like deer. Springs will gush forth in wastelands.

There will be a "Highway of Holiness" where evil-minded people will never travel, where only the redeemed walk, where no dangers lurk. "Those who have been ransomed by the Lord will return. They will enter Jerusalem singing, crowned with everlasting joy. Sorrow and mourning will disappear, and they will be filled with joy and gladness."

Living in the In-Between

We live in the time between these two realities—after Christ's first coming but before His return. The world as we see it today, with all its chaos and injustice, is not how things will always be. There's an end coming, yes, but more importantly, there's a new beginning.

This truth should shape how we live right now. When we accepted Christ, in a sense, our old life came to an end and we received a new life. We're still works in progress, but one day, when we come into His presence, that work will be fully and finally complete.

Until then, we keep our eyes fixed on the promise: there is a new beginning coming. And what an awesome day that will be.