Devo Sept 25 Isaiah 21

Chapter 21
1 A prophecy against the Desert by the Sea: Like whirlwinds sweeping
through the southland, an invader comes from the desert, from a land of
terror.2 A dire vision has been shown to me: The traitor betrays, the looter
takes loot.Elam, attack! Media, lay siege! I will bring to an end all the
groaning she caused.3 At this my body is racked with pain, pangs seize
me, like those of a woman in labor; I am staggered by what I hear, I am
bewildered by what I see.4 My heart falters, fear makes me tremble;
the twilight I longed for has become a horror to me.5 They set the tables,
they spread the rugs, they eat, they drink! Get up, you officers, oil the
shields!6 This is what the Lord says to me: “Go, post a lookout and have
him report what he sees.7 When he sees chariots with teams of horses,
riders on donkeys or riders on camels, let him be alert, fully alert.”
8 And the lookout shouted,“Day after day, my lord, I stand on the watchtower;
every night I stay at my post.9 Look, here comes a man in a chariot
with a team of horses.And he gives back the answer: ‘Babylon has fallen,
has fallen!All the images of its gods lie shattered on the ground!’”
10 My people who are crushed on the threshing floor, I tell you what I
have heard from the LORD Almighty, from the God of Israel.

Personal Note
This is a message of the destruction of Babylon. Prophet Isaiah saw the devastation of Babylon in a vision and was gripped with grief. Meanwhile, the Babylonians wined and dined, the destruction came upon them unexpectedly. “My people who are crushed on the threshing floor”, this was referred to the Judeans
who though having been under oppression from many fronts, still tried to plot schemes in allying with Babylon against Assyrians. In fact, Babylon was doomed as well.

What is your “Babylon” – the arrangement to shelter you from the uncertainties of life? If you know that all you planning, and arrangements are temporal security that will be swept away, how do you feel? What can you do to fill the insecurity that only God can fulfill?

My Babylon for escaping the difficulties in life varies throughout my life.  When I was in younger and in school, it was the desire to have a girlfriend, basketball, computer games, drinking parties, lustful activities...  Later on in life, it was desire to have a high pay job, indulgence in recreation, and a false perception of piety (this is hard to explain, it means trying to appear and have the spiritual strength and security without the cost of discipleship).

Today, the temptation to fall back into my old pattern of life is present.  In my old pattern of life, I denied commands of God because I want to have pleasure and fun.  I instinctively sheltered myself from challenges and uncertainties of life.  What can I do with the insecurities I am facing today?

I have decided to obey God's commands I already know with a willing heart.  I have decided to take on the challenges and uncertainty with God's help and strength.  After all, I am doing God's work, and what makes me think that I can do it without His help?