ISAIAH 31


OPENS WITH....THE LORD WILL GIVE VICTORY, NOT EGYPT

Verse 1 tells us GOD tells ISAIAH....Woe to those who look to Egypt, not the LORD.

"Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, and rely on horses, who trust in chariots because they are many, and in horsemen because they are very strong, but who do not look to the Holy One of Israel, nor seek the LORD!"

GOD has Isaiah confront Judah with TWO sins.
THE SIN of trusting in Egypt and their military might.
THE SIN the of not looking to the Holy One of Israel.

Judah felt they had a reason to trust in chariots (because they are many). Judah felt they had a reason to trust in horsemen (because they are very strong). But they couldn't seem to find a reason to trust in the LORD!

EVERYONE HAS FAITH.
TRUE OR MISPLACED...
WHAT DO I MEAN?
FINANCIERS HAVE FAITH IN MARKET FORCES.
MILITARY HAS FAITH IN BOMBS & BOOTS ON THE GROUND.
SCIENCE HAS FAITH IN NATURES REGULARITIES.
SO JUDAH HAD FAITH IN EGYPT.

How much better to have the heart of the Psalmist in Psalm 20:7: "Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we will remember the name of the LORD our God."

Verses 2-3 tells us The LORD is mightier than the Egyptians.

"Yet He also is wise and will bring disaster, and will not call back His words, but will arise against the house of evildoers, and against the help of those who work iniquity. Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses are flesh, and not spirit. When the LORD stretches out His hand, both he who helps will fall, and he who is helped will fall down; they all will perish together."

Yet He also is wise and will bring disaster...

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

Though Judah couldn't seem to find a reason to trust God, the reasons were there, and Isaiah calls them to remember the reasons. They should trust God more than the Egyptians or their armies because He also is wise and will bring disaster … He will arise against the house of evildoers.

Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses are flesh, and not spirit: Judah was also wrong about their trust in Egypt. The Egyptians and their armies were not as mighty as they seemed to be. All the LORD must do to topple them, along with all who trust in them, is to stretch out His hand.

Verses 4-5 tells us The LORD defends Mount Zion.

"For thus the LORD has spoken to me: "As a lion roars, and a young lion over his prey (When a multitude of shepherds is summoned against him, He will not be afraid of their voice nor be disturbed by their noise), so the LORD of hosts will come down to fight for Mount Zion and for its hill. Like birds flying about, so will the LORD of hosts defend Jerusalem. Defending, He will also deliver it; passing over, He will preserve it."

As a lion roars … So the LORD of hosts will come down to fight for Mount Zion...

DO YOU HEAR THE PROMISE OF GOD HERE?! HE IS SAYING....I HAVE PROMISED....I DO NOT LIE. WILL YOU NOT TRUST IN ME....JUST ME!

Again, their trust in Egypt for protection against the Assyrian invasion was both foolish and unnecessary. God would protect Mount Zion if Judah trusted Him or not!

Like birds flying about, so will the LORD of hosts defend Jerusalem...

I LOVE THIS PICTURE...REMINDS ME OF WHAT A MOTHER BIRD DOES TO PROTECT HER EGGS AND HER BABIES FEARLESSLY & CONSTANTLY, AMEN?

So, God will defend Jerusalem with the ferocity of a lion, and also with the tender care of a bird. The combination of the two images is powerful.

WHEN I WAS A KID, I USED TO WATCH WILD KINGDOM, WITH JIM FOWLER & MARLEN PERKINS EVERY WEEK....AND HE SAID SOMETHING THAT STUCK WITH ME OVER THE YEARS.

MAN BELIEVES THAT THE LION OF THE JUNGLE IS THE MOST FIERCE OF NATURE'S CREATURES...BUT I TELL YOU THE LION, BEAR, THE PANTHER...DO NOT DARE CHALLENGE A MOTHER LIONNESS, BEAR, OR PANTHER WHEN SHE HAS BABIES. THERE IS NOTHING MORE FIERCE, PROTECTIVE, AND MORE DANGEROUS AN A MOTHER IN NATURE.

OUR LORD GOD IS FIERCE FOR US AND IN PROTECTING US, BUT HE IS AT THE SAME TIME SO VERY TENDER IN HIS CARE OF US, AMEN?

THIS CHAPTER OF ISAIAH IS BRINGING BACK MEMORIES, AND DATING ME, BUT I ALSO REMEMBER A BLACK AND WHITE DISNEY CARTOON...WHERE AN ANGEL HOVERS OVER GOOFY ALL DAY, FLYING BEFORE HIM, BEHIND HIM, BESIDE HIM, AS HE PROTECTS THE UNAWARE, GOOFY WHO ALMOST SLIPS IN THE SHOWER, ELECTROCUTES HIMSELF WHILE MAKING TOAST, AND IS SAVED FROM SEVERAL DEATHS AND INJURIES IN HIS CAR ON THE WAY TO WORK...AND THROUGH HIS DAY..ALL THE WHILE GOOFY IS MOSEYING ALONG, HUMMING A TUNE, GRINNING WITH SUPREME CONFIDENCE AT HIS SKILLS, WHEN IT IS THE ANGEL KEEPING HIM FROM KILLING HIMSELF, GETTING HURT, BEAT UP...A NUMBER OF THINGS IN JUST ONE DAY...NOW AT THE END OF THE DAY, WHEN GOOFY CRAWLS INTO BED, THE ANGEL IS EXHAUSTED. THE DIFFERENCE BEING....OUR JESUS DOES NOT GET TIRED, DOES NOT FALL ASLEEP...HE IS EVER VIGILANT, AMEN?

Verses 6-9 tells us An invitation to repent to the God who will deliver.

"Return to Him against whom the children of Israel have deeply revolted. For in that day every man shall throw away his idols of silver and his idols of gold; sin, which your own hands have made for yourselves. "Then Assyria shall fall by a sword not of man, and a sword not of mankind shall devour him. But he shall flee from the sword, and his young men shall become forced labor. He shall cross over to his stronghold for fear, and his princes shall be afraid of the banner," says the LORD, whose fire is in Zion and whose furnace is in Jerusalem."

Return to Him...

HERE WE HEAR ISAIAH ONCE AGAIN, AS HE HAS DONE FOR 30 CHAPTERS...ENCOURAGING, PLEADING, AND THEN WARNING...

Because of how great God is, because of how terrible the alternatives to serving Him are, we should feel compelled to return to Him. Repentance means turning towards God, and away from anything we have put in God's place (idols of silver and idols of gold - sin, which your own hands have made).

Then Assyria shall fall by sword not of man...

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

This was fulfilled exactly. The Assyrian army devastated almost the entire land of Judah, and camped on the outskirts of Jerusalem, waiting to conquer the nation by defeating the capital city.

But 2 Kings 19:1-37 describes what our God can do & PROVES WHAT HE PROMISES TO DO....HE WILL DO!

TURN WITH ME TO 2 KINGS 19

GOD DELIVERS JERUSALEM FROM ASSYRIA

Verses 1-5 tell us King Hezekiah seeks Isaiah in the time of great distress

"And so it was, when King Hezekiah heard it, that he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the LORD. Then he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz. And they said to him, "Thus says Hezekiah: 'This day is a day of trouble, and rebuke, and blasphemy; for the children have come to birth, but there is no strength to bring them forth. It may be that the LORD your God will hear all the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to reproach the living God, and will rebuke the words which the LORD your God has heard. Therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.' " So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah."

When King Hezekiah heard it, that he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth: The tearing of clothes and the wearing of sackcloth (a rough, burlap-type material) were expressions of deep mourning, usually for the death of a loved one. Hezekiah received this report regarding Rabshakeh seriously, knowing how dedicated this enemy was to completely conquering Jerusalem.

Hezekiah's initial reaction was good. He saw the situation for what it really was. Often, when we are in some kind of trial or difficulty, we handle it poorly because we never see the situation accurately. Jerusalem's situation was desperate and Hezekiah knew it.

There was good reason for Hezekiah to be so humble before the LORD.

WHY?

AT THIS TIME...City after city has fallen to Sennacherib and long lines of deportees are already snaking their bitter way into exile - and it is all Hezekiah's fault! He followed the lunatic policy of rebellion and was bewitched by Egyptian promises. He might as well have sold his people himself. But even when a matter is our own fault we can still pray about it. And the Lord can always be trusted to HEAR his people.

And went into the house of the LORD...

Hezekiah's SECOND reaction was even better. He did not allow his mourning and grief spin him into a rejection of the LORD's power and help. He knew this was a more necessary time than ever to seek the LORD.

The THIRD thing Hezekiah did was also good. The king sought out the word of the LORD, given through the prophet of the LORD.

FOURTHLY, Hezekiah knew that their ONLY hope was that God would take offense at the blasphemies of Rabshakeh and rise up against him.

FIFTHLY...Hezekiah ASKED Isaiah, pray for us. Our nation is devastated by this Assyrian invasion, and Jerusalem alone is left standing. Pray for the remnant that is left.

Verses 6-7 tells us God's word of assurance to Hezekiah.

"And Isaiah said to them, "Thus you shall say to your master, 'Thus says the LORD: "Do not be afraid of the words which you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me. Surely I will send a spirit upon him, and he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land."' "

Isaiah, speaking for the LORD, was about to make a bold prediction. His prophecy would be entirely "provable." It would either happen or it would not happen; Isaiah would be known as a true prophet or a false prophet shortly.

Do NOT be afraid of the words which you have heard...Perhaps we can sense a gentle rebuke in these words from the LORD. "Hezekiah, it is good for you to seek Me so passionately. But the words of the Rabshakeh are only words. Do not be afraid of them."

With which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me...

How these words must have cheered Hezekiah! Before, he had hoped it may be that the LORD your God will hear the words of the Rabshakeh … to reproach the living God (2 Kings 19:4). Now, the LORD spoke through the prophet Isaiah, saying He HAD indeed heard those words. It was evident that God took this offense personally.

The servants of the king of Assyria: Servants is "a deliberately belittling expression, 'the king of Assyria's lads/flunkies'.

Surely I WILL send a spirit upon him, and he SHALL hear a rumor and return to his own land; and I WILL cause him to fall by the sword in his own land: Here, the LORD God assured Hezekiah that He would indeed deal with the Rabshakeh. He had heard his blasphemy, and would bring judgment against him.

YOU NOTICE, IN THIS INITIAL WORD FROM THE LORD, there was no mention of Jerusalem's deliverance or the defeat of the Assyrian army. God focused this word against the Rabshakeh personally.

Verses 8-13 gives us the response of Rabshakeh to King Hezekiah and Jerusalem.

"Then the Rabshakeh returned and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah, for he heard that he had departed from Lachish. And the king heard concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, "Look, he has come out to make war with you." So he again sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, "Thus you shall speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying: 'Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you, saying, "Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria." Look! You have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands by utterly destroying them; and shall you be delivered? Have the gods of the nations delivered those whom my fathers have destroyed, Gozan and Haran and Rezeph, and the people of Eden who were in Telassar? Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah?'"

This must have seemed to Hezekiah to be the fulfillment of the LORD's promise through the prophet Isaiah. The Rabshakeh left Jerusalem and Hezekiah must have thought, "Now he'll go back to his own land and be killed, just like the LORD promised. Good riddance! Thank You LORD!"

The king heard concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, "He has come out to make war with you."

While the Rabshakeh was away, the Assyrians learned that Egyptian troops (under an Ethiopian king) were advancing from the south. This would be the Egyptian intervention Assyria feared, and that many in Judah trusted in. As Isaiah prophesied, it would come to nothing (Isaiah 20:1-6 and 30:1-7).

Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you...SOUNDS JUST LIKE SATAN...DOES IT NOT?

ALTHOUGH Rabshakeh was not in Jerusalem, but that didn't stop him from trying to build fear, discouragement, and despair in Hezekiah. He sent a letter to the king of Judah to attack him from a distance with WORDS OF THREAT!

Have the gods of the nations...If read with an eye of faith, these must have been trust-building words of the Rabshakeh to Hezekiah. In counting the LORD God of Israel among the gods of the nations, the Rabshakeh blasphemed the LORD and invited judgment.

HE BOLDLY LISTED THE CITIES HE HAD ALREADY CONQUERED...I DESTROYED THEM WITH MY OWN MIGHT STRENGTH, NUMBERS, AND POWER...YOU ARE NOTHING...YOUR GOD IS NOTHING...YOU ARE NEXT!

Verses 14-19 is Hezekiah's prayer.

"And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the LORD, and spread it before the LORD. Then Hezekiah prayed before the LORD, and said: "O LORD God of Israel, the One who dwells between the cherubim, You are God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Incline Your ear, O LORD, and hear; open Your eyes, O LORD, and see; and hear the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to reproach the living God. Truly, LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands, and have cast their gods into the fire; for they were not gods, but the work of men's hands; wood and stone. Therefore they destroyed them. Now therefore, O LORD our God, I pray, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are the LORD God, You alone."

Hezekiah did EXACTLY what any child of God should do with such a letter. He took it to the house of the LORD (to the outer courts, not the holy place), and he spread it out before the LORD. In this, Hezekiah boldly and effectively fulfilled the later command of 1 Peter 5:7: "casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you."

DO YOU NOTICE, Hezekiah reacted to the second letter in a different manner. He didn't go to Isaiah. He went to the temple and prayed alone, taking his plea directly to the Lord.

MEYER SAYS IT PERFECTLY....When therefore letters come to you, anonymous or otherwise, full of bitter reproach; when unkind and malignant stories are set on foot with respect to you; when all hope from man has perished, then take your complaint - the letter, the article, the speech, the rumour - and lay it before God. Let your requests be known unto Him.

God of Israel: This title for God reminded Hezekiah - and the LORD also, in our human way of understanding - that the LORD God was the covenant God of Israel, and that He should not forsake His people.

AND DID YOU KNOW.... "O LORD of hosts" is another title for THE LORD WHICH MEANS... "LORD of armies." Hezekiah was in a crisis that was primarily military in nature, so it made sense for him to address the LORD first according to the aspect of God's nature that was most needful for him. "LORD of armies, send some troops to help us!"

You are God, You alone...God is a simple title for our LORD, but perhaps the most powerful.

If He is God, then what can He not do?
If He is God, then what is beyond His control?
Hezekiah realized the most fundamental fact of all theology: God is God, and we are not! God is God, and the Rabshakeh or the Assyrians are not!

Incline Your ear, O LORD, and hear; open Your eyes, O LORD, and see...

Hezekiah knew very well that the LORD did in fact hear and see the blasphemies of Rabshakeh. This is a poetic way of asking God to act upon what He has seen and heard, assuming that if God has seen such things, He will certainly act!


Verses 20-21 THE LORD ANSWERS...Sennacherib is worthy of scorn - not fear and trembling.

"Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, "Thus says the LORD God of Israel: 'Because you have prayed to Me against Sennacherib king of Assyria, I have heard.' This is the word which the LORD has spoken concerning him: 'The virgin, the daughter of Zion, Has despised you, laughed you to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem Has shaken her head behind your back!'"

The glorious answer which fills the rest of the chapter came because Hezekiah prayed.

THE WORLD, SATAN, AND MAN ARE ALWAYSSS FULL OF ....BUT....WHAT IF....WHAT IF....

SO GOD ANSWERS...What if he had not prayed? Then we are to think that no answer would have come, and Jerusalem would have been conquered.

GOD IS SHOWING US THAT PRAYER IS POWERFUL & THAT Hezekiah's prayer really mattered.

Verses 22-28 tells us God's word to the King of Assyria and his representatives.

"Whom have you reproached and blasphemed? Against whom have you raised your voice, and lifted up your eyes on high? Against the Holy One of Israel. By your messengers you have reproached the Lord, and said: "By the multitude of my chariots I have come up to the height of the mountains, to the limits of Lebanon; I will cut down its tall cedars and its choice cypress trees; I will enter the extremity of its borders, to its fruitful forest. I have dug and drunk strange water, and with the soles of my feet I have dried up all the brooks of defense." Did you not hear long ago how I made it, from ancient times that I formed it? Now I have brought it to pass, that you should be for crushing fortified cities into heaps of ruins. Therefore their inhabitants had little power; they were dismayed and confounded; they were as the grass of the field and the green herb, as the grass on the housetops and grain blighted before it is grown. But I know your dwelling place, your going out and your coming in, and your rage against Me. Because your rage against Me and your tumult have come up to My ears, therefore I will put My hook in your nose and My bridle in your lips, and I will turn you back By the way which you came."

SIMPLY PUT...The LORD, speaking through Isaiah, said to the Rabshakeh, "Do you know whom you are dealing with?"

Sometimes God speaks to the enemy more for the sake of His people than for the sake of the enemy himself.

THE LORD REMINDED ASSYRIA, ALL OF THEIR VICTORIES WERE BECAUSE THE LORD ALLOWED IT...NOT BECAUSE OF THEIR OWN SELF-PERCEIVED POWER.

I KNOW your dwelling place, your going out and your coming in...
God KNEW how to find the Assyrians. And because Assyria went too far in blaspheming the One who made all their success possible, therefore I will put My hook in your nose … and I will turn you back by the way which you came.

This was an especially dramatic statement!!

WHY?

Because this is exactly how the Assryians cruelly marched those whom they forced to relocate out of their conquered lands. They lined up the captives, and drove a large fishhook through the lip or the nose of each captive, strung them all together and marched them. God said, "I'm going to do the same thing to you."


Verses 29-31 tell us God will prosper wounded Judah.

"This shall be a sign to you: You shall eat this year such as grows of itself, and in the second year what springs from the same; also in the third year sow and reap, plant vineyards and eat the fruit of them. And the remnant who have escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward. For out of Jerusalem shall go a remnant, and those who escape from Mount Zion. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this."

As much as the Assyrians would like to crush Jerusalem and Judah, they will not be able to. God will preserve His remnant.

Verses 32-34 tell us God will defend Judah for His sake.

"Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the king of Assyria: "He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield, nor build a siege mound against it. By the way that he came, by the same shall he return; and he shall not come into this city," says the LORD. "For I will defend this city, to save it for My own sake and for My servant David's sake."

God plainly and clearly drew a line. Although the Assyrian military machine was poised to lay siege to Jerusalem and ultimately crush them, they won't. The king of Assyria would not come into this city because God promised to defend it.

It is hard for modern people to understand the ancient horror of the siege, when a city was surrounded by a hostile army and trapped into a slow, suffering starvation.

King Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem lived under the shadow of this threat, but God's promise through Isaiah assured them that Sennacherib and the Assyrian army would not only fail to capture the city, but would not even shoot an arrow or build a siege mound against Jerusalem. God promised that they wouldn't even begin a siege.

This explains why God promised to defend Jerusalem. God would defend His own glory. Often, we unnecessarily think that we must defend the glory of the LORD. But that isn't really the case. God is more than able to defend His own glory.

God also does it "For My servant David's sake."

King David had died almost 300 years before this, but God still honored His promise to David (2 Samuel 7:10-17).

God defended Jerusalem, not for the city's sake at all - Jerusalem deserved judgment! But He did it for His own sake and for the sake of David. In the same way, God the Father defends and blesses us, not for our own sake - we often deserve His judgment - but He often does it for His own sake, and for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Verse 35 tell us God strikes down the mighty army of Assyria.

"And it came to pass on a certain night that the angel of the LORD went out, and killed in the camp of the Assyrians one hundred and eighty-five thousand; and when people arose early in the morning, there were the corpses; all dead."

The angel of the LORD went out...Simply and powerfully, God destroyed this mighty army in one night. 185,000 died at the hand of the angel of the LORD. AND WE KNOW NOW, THAT ANY TIME WE SEE THE ANGEL OF THE LORD, IT CAN ONLY MEAN JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF. Against all odds, and against every expectation except the expectation of faith, the Assyrian army was turned back without having even shot an arrow into Jerusalem. The unstoppable was stopped, the undefeated was defeated.

AND YOU NOTICE....THE WATCH DID NOT SEE OR HEAR A THING....THE ANIMALS DID NOT SEE OR HEAR A THING. THE GATE KEEPERS DID NOT SEE OR HEAR A THING....AND NONE OF THE PEOPLE SAW OR HEARD A THING.

MODERN MAN THINKS HE CREATED...SNEAK ATTACK, SILENT KILL TECHNIQUES....BUT NOTHING COMPARES TO OUR JESUS, WHO ALL BY HIMSELF, IN TOTAL SILENCE, DESTROYED THE 185,OOO ENEMIES OF JERUSALEM....WHILE THEY SLEPT!


Verses 36-37 tells us the defeated Sennacherib is judged in Nineveh.

"So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went away, returned home, and remained at Nineveh. Now it came to pass, as he was worshiping in the temple of Nisroch his god, that his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Ararat. Then Esarhaddon his son reigned in his place."

This happened exactly as God said it would. But THE KING OF ASSYRIA...RETURNED NOT HUMBLED BUT FULL OF SELF PRIDE..

HOW DO WE KNOW THIS?

After this retreat from Judah, Sennacherib commissioned a record, which is preserved in the spectacular Annals of Sennacherib (the Taylor Prisim), which can be seen in the British Museum. It shows how full of pride Sennacherib's heart still was, even if he could not even claim he conquered Jerusalem.

HERE IS AN EXCERPT FROM THOSE ANNALS....

"I attacked Hezekiah of Judah who had not subjected himself to me, and took forty-six fortresses, forts and small cities. I carried away captive 200,150 people, big and small, both male and female, a multitude of horses, young bulls, asses, camels, and oxen. Hezekiah himself I locked up in Jerusalem like a bird in its cage. I put up banks against the city. I separated his cities whose inhabitants I had taken prisoners from his realm and gave them to Mitiniti, king of Ashdod, Padi, king of Ekron, and Zilbel, king of Gaza and thus diminished his country. And I added another tax to the one imposed on him earlier."

Now it came to pass...

DID YOU KNOW...Between 2 Kings 19:36 and 2 Kings 19:37, 20 years passed. FROM THE READING OF HIS RECORD... Sennacherib thought he had escaped the judgment of God, but he hadn't.

WORSE...He met the bitter end of death at the end of swords held by his own sons.


AND THIS ALSO REMINDS US THAT OUR JESUS NEITHER SLEEPS NOR SLUMBERS...HE IS ALWAYS ALERT, ALWAYS WITH US, AND ALWAYS OUR SHIELD AGAINST THIS WORLD, MAN, AND SATAN AND ALL HIS DEMONS, AMEN?

SO THEN AND NOW, ISAIAH IS ASKING, WHO DO YOU REALLLY PUT YOUR FAITH AND TRUST IN?

IF YOU ARE TRUSTING AND HAVE FAITH IN YOURSELF, YOUR JOB, YOUR FAMILY, YOUR CHURCH, YOUR GOVERNMENT, YOUR MONEY, YOUR HEALTH....YOU ARE NOTTTTTTTT TRUSTING IN THE ONE WHO SEES ALL THINGS, KNOWS ALL THINGS, CONTROLS ALL THINGS.

THE WORLD, SATAN, AND MAN SAY TRUST ONLY IN WHAT IS IN YOUR HANDS, WHAT YOU CAN SEE AND TOUCH, WHAT YOU CAN MANIPULATE AND CONTROL...BUT THE LORD SAYS, THEN AND NOW...ALL OF THAT IS FADING, FLEETING, AS VAPOR IN THE WIND...LOOK TO ME AND ME ALONE FOR YOUR PROTECTION, PROVISION, DIRECTION, HEALING.

I, THE LORD JESUS, ALONE, WHOM MY FATHER HAS PLACED ALL THINGS INTO MY HANDS, IS ABLE.

CALL UPON ME.
LOOK TO ME.
STAY CLOSE TO ME.
I AM THE ALPHA AND THE OMEGA.
I DO NOT CHANGE.
I DO NOT LIE.
I DO NOT FAIL TO KEEP MY PROMISES TO YOU.

TRUST IN ME, AND MY LOVING CARE FOR YOU EVEN IN THE MIDST OF THE WORST THIS WORLD CAN THROW AT YOU..