Have you noticed how hot it has been lately? It’s not too surprising when you live in Florida and it’s the middle of August, but this summer seems particularly hot.
Too much sun can be very dangerous. If you aren’t careful to apply sunscreen you can end up with a bad sunburn in minutes. If you don’t drink enough water or stay in the sun too long you can become dehydrated or suffer heat stroke. You have to take the heat seriously. You need relief.
When the heat is bearing down on you, nothing feels better than a cloud coming over and providing some shade. Suddenly, you can open your eyes wide and take in the breeze as long as the cover remains.
Our lives can sometimes feel like we’re under a heatwave. While we expect things to go wrong every now and then, sometimes a bunch of things can go wrong at once. Between trying to pay bills, taking care of our families, and maintaining our relationships, there is a lot of room for things to go haywire. When problems pile up, we can easily become overwhelmed with stress and worry. We may find ourselves wishing that our problems would just go away but lacking the hope that they ever will.
Thankfully, there is a solution to our troubles. In Isaiah 25, the prophet tells us about the wonderful God we have. He is a God who is faithful and true (v. 1). He is a God who protects His people (v. 2). But He is also a God who gives His people relief. In verse 4, Isaiah says, “For You have been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat…” God doesn’t want you to suffer. He wants to give you relief.
The Bible is filled with passage after passage that describe God’s desire and ability to take our burdens away. In Psalm 23:3, David writes that God “…restores my soul.” 1 Peter 5:7 tells us that God “…cares for you.” Philippians 4:19 says, “…my God will supply every need of yours…” God desires to care for us, and we can rest assured that He is.
God cares so much for our well-being that He centered His divine will around our greatest need. Back in Isaiah 25, God’s ability to shade us from evil is most perfectly fulfilled in the coming of Jesus. “He will swallow up death forever, and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces…We have waited for Him; We will be glad and rejoice in His salvation” (v. 8-9).
There will be times when it seems nothing is going right. But there is a cloud of relief coming. If we faithfully wait on the Lord, He will rescue us from all of life’s worries.