I read the news. I listen to talk radio. I follow political and cultural commentators on Twitter as well as pastors and theologians. I listen to The Briefing by Dr. Mohler online at least a couple times a week. I know I’m not alone at Calvary Grace.

Even if you are not a news hound, you know enough to be alarmed at what is going on in the culture these days. Radical, immoral tidal waves of change are breaking on the shores of our Western world. It can be overwhelming and discouraging.

Reading Isaiah the other day, I was confronted by these verses:

This is what the LORD says to me with his strong hand upon me, warning me not to follow the way of this people: "Do not call conspiracy everything this people calls a conspiracy; do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it. The LORD Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread. He will be a holy place; for both Israel and Judah he will be a stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall. And for the people of Jerusalem he will be a trap and a snare. - Isaiah 8:11-14

My prayer was informed by these verses: “Lord, I trust you. Even if the world goes mad around me, I know that you are sovereign and are accomplishing your purposes for the glory of your name and the good of your people.”

May we be a people that fear the Lord and trust that he is good. Remember, also, the promises of the very next chapter. Take a moment to review Isaiah 9:1-7.