“Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things” (Psalm 72:18).
In a very important sense, our world is an unsafe place. We are not “protected” or “secure” from the threat of our undoing. We are not an impregnable fortress, masters of our fate. The illusion of safety, especially in the West, especially in America, especially in the Midwest, is very powerful. However, a single gust of wind could send the house of cards falling. Despite this fragility, the shared sentiment is that we’re untouchable. We’re untouchable to our enemies. We’re also untouchable to God. The prophet Isaiah writes, “you have said, ‘We have made a covenant with death, and with Sheol we have an agreement, when the overwhelming whip passes through it will not come to us, for we have made lies our refuge, and in falsehood we have taken shelter” (Isaiah 28:15). The illusion of our fortress is built upon lies: lies we tell ourselves and lies we tell others. The coming Christ, though, undoes our lies and disassembles the fickle protection of falsity. As the prophet has it, “‘And I will make justice the line, and righteousness the plumb line; and hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters will overwhelm the shelter.’ Then your covenant with death will be annulled, and your agreement with Sheol will not stand” (Isaiah 28:17-18). In this judgment, to which we’re supremely vulnerable, the Lord has a message for us “and it will be sheer terror to understand the message” (Isaiah 28:19).
God’s message in the coming Christ is his truth, as opposed to our lies. The psalmist writes, “Give the king you justice, O God, and your righteousness to the royal son” (Psalm 72:1). God’s truth is penetrating justice, plenteous sustenance, the pronouncement of his universal reign, and the deliverance of the needy. In short, God’s truth is his city (Revelation 21:22-27). His truth is the place where he dwells with his “favored one” (Luke 1:28). It’s God’s new world, overgrown with life from a barren wasteland. The terror of this message, which promises God’s own flourishing to us, is its undoing power. It is “a decree of destruction” (Isaiah 28:22). However, from this destruction and desolation God brings salvation and life, “for nothing will be impossible for God” (Luke 1:37).
Today, I’d ask you to reflect upon the ways you conceive of your world as “safe” from God, as well as “safe” from your enemies. How fickle is that safety, really? How easily could the carefully organized features of your life unravel? The Lord brings life from this unraveling, he brings flourishing from this undoing.
Further Reading: Psalm 72; Isaiah 28:9-22; Revelation 21:9-21; Luke 1:26-38
Written by Guest House Theologian, Tim Morgan. These reflections are a complimentary addition to our Advent Blend Coffee Bags. Scan the QR code each day to read the most recent reflection.
More Advent reflections can be found here.