Isaiah 32
I thought the ending of this chapter was absolutely beautiful: “The Lord’s justice will dwell in the desert, his righteousness live in the fertile field. The fruit of that righteousness will be peace; its effect will be quietness and confidence forever. My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest. Though hail flattens the forest and the city is leveled completely, how blessed you will be.” (vs 16-20)
The word “secure” struck me, and I thought back to the last time I drove my in-laws to the airport. We usually go in to wait with them until the last minute, when they have to pass through a security checkpoint in order to board the plane. We have put those checkpoints in place because we want to believe that the airplanes we fly on are safe. We want to feel secure—and not just on planes, but in our homes, our schools, our communities.
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But our “security” works a little differently than God’s security. We employ security officers and set up checkpoints in order to prevent bad things from happening. We try to avoid misfortune and mishap by anticipating evil (or finding a way to stop it quickly once it’s in progress).
God’s security is something different, however. It is not the absence of bad circumstances. Rather, it is the presence of peace, the peace that comes as a result of understanding God’s righteousness. As we come to know God better, as we understand that He always does what is right and good, we develop peace and confidence in Him. Thus, as Isaiah says, even when everything around us is destroyed, we are not destroyed. Even when everything around us is chaotic, we can be at peace.
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God doesn’t offer us security by artificially manufacturing peaceful circumstances. In fact, Jesus promised us that when we follow Him, our circumstances will often not be peaceful! Instead, God makes us secure in the midst of the trials and troubles that come to us in life. That’s why the security He offers is everlasting; it doesn’t change with the seasons.
The more we learn about God, the more we will experience the security He offers—security that is not based on where we are or who we’re with, but security that is based on who He is.