Keeping perspective

It is good to camp in Isaiah 40 from time to time. In an age where it is easy to be upset because of whatever economic or political situation is going, we need the long view. We are not satisfied with the long view any longer, which is why I need Isaiah 40.

These verses may not “calm me down” right away, but they force me into perspective:

God makes dignitaries useless
and the earth’s judges into nothing.
Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown,
scarcely is their shoot rooted in the earth
when God breathes on them, and they dry up;
the windstorm carries them off like straw.
So to whom will you compare me,
and who is my equal? says the holy one. (Isa. 40:23-25, CEB)

In every era, in every period of time, we are tempted by fear. We are tempted by anger. We are tempted by short-sightedness. No matter the political leanings these days, different groups of people take turns being infuriated by whoever is in power.

Justice doesn’t move swift enough. Justice is non-existent. My rights are being trampled. My job situation is bad.

There is a litany of things we can bring to the Lord in anxiety. And it’s easy to create straw man arguments along the way, blaming something else for our current situation.

Let our worries and anxieties be cast on the Lord. Who is his equal?

Lord, I too often dwell with anxious thoughts. Let me see the long perspective and be reminded that no ruler on this earth will last. No system of humanity will solve every problem, nor will any human system bring everything down without your will being involved. Settle me in your eternal goodness, mercy, and justice. Amen.