Isaiah 33:21–22

"The LORD will be our Mighty One.
  He will be like a wide river of protection
that no enemy can cross,
  that no enemy ship can sail upon.
For the LORD is our judge,
  our lawgiver, and our king.
  He will care for us and save us"

 

 

We can trust in God's protection. He will be like a wide river our enemies cannot cross. What enemies threaten you, either from without or within? Remember that the Lord is your Mighty One. He is your judge (who has paid for your sin and who will judge everyone and everything). He is the lawgiver, who made everything to work the way it does. He is your king, ruling over all. This is the One who will care for you and save you.

Isaiah 39: 2, 5–8

"Hezekiah was delighted with the Babylonian envoys and showed them everything in his treasure-houses—the silver, the gold, the spices, and the aromatic oils. He also took them to see his armory and showed them everything in his royal treasuries! There was nothing in his palace or kingdom that Hezekiah did not show them.

Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, 'Listen to this message from the LORD of Heaven's Armies: "The time is coming when everything in your palace—all the treasures stored up by your ancestors until now—will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left," says the LORD. "Some of your very own sons will be taken away into exile. They will become eunuchs who will serve in the palace of Babylon's king."'

Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, 'This message you have given me from the LORD is good.' For the king was thinking, 'At least there will be peace and security during my lifetime.'"

 

 

 

God in his mercy spared Hezekiah's life, but because Hezekiah's pride continued, the consequences of his showing the Babylonian visitors his treasures would mean disaster for his descendants. Notice Hezekiah's response to Isaiah's message: outward assent but inward selfishness. He didn't care about his descendants but cared only for his personal peace and security. This attitude permeates our world too. It's the perfect example of how the sinful nature works: I only care abut myself and my own personal peace and security and do not care about the consequences of my actions or decisions for those who come after me.

Proverbs 16:21, 23

"The wise are known for their understanding,
  and pleasant words are persuasive.
From a wise mind comes wise speech;
  the words of the wise are persuasive."

 

 

How often in life do you need to be persuasive? Most jobs require some degree of "selling" or persuading, if only to get people to do what they need to do. Leaders of any kind need to be persuasive. And what about parenting—don't you need masterful persuasive skills for that? What a comfort to know that God equates persuasive words with wisdom, and endorses it. Today, pray for the wisdom to come out with wise, pleasant, and persuasive words as necessary.