“The Lord God will wipe away
the tears from all faces;
The reproach of his people he will remove from the whole earth; for the Lord has spoken.”
Isaiah 25:8-9 (NAB)
This scripture is all I can think about after watching the heart wrenching stories of what has been happening in Israel over the past week, after the savage terrorist attacks of Hamas.
Mostly every home in Israel has a safe room, a fortified shelter with a strong steel door that is sealed and impenetrable to chemical attack, and other dangers.
So many tears are currently being shed across the land of Israel in the past week. Most of those tears are for people’s children, who have been either been killed or kidnapped. Not only are many Israeli parents in mourning, but the whole world is watching the holy land, which is the geographical roots of their faith, as it is being desecrated with terror and brutality.
In spite of so much sadness, I heard of one true story of heroism. A young man and his family saw Hamas terrorists approaching their home, and as he brought his family into their safe room, he called his father, who was a retired special forces General in the Israeli Defense Force. The father immediately told his son to stay in their safe room, and he was on the way.
His father arrived quickly and after a gunfight between himself a few terrorists, he was able to save his son and his entire family.
We also have a heroic Father in heaven, who we can call on through prayer. He might say something similar to us, “Stay in your safe room, I’m on the way.” The Lord is both our father and our hero. Jesus is referred to as the good shepherd and the lion of Judah. As a shepherd, He protects and takes care of our daily needs. As the lion of Judah, He roars, fighting for us, His cubs. Jesus is also known as the Prince of Peace, and we have a safe room in Him, because we are promised that “the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.”(Romans 16:20)
Our safe room is a spiritual place that we shelter in. It’s a metaphor for believers, of a temporary shelter during a storm of assault, when our faith is put to the test. These are the times that we need a spiritual safe room to shelter and rebuild our faith and confidence in God. It’s not a physical room, it’s more of a state of mind, that keeps our hope and faith in Him, until He delivers us.
When we feel like we are surrounded by threats causing new worries or fears, we need to find our safe room, and stay there because we have a heroic Father, who is on His way to deliver us. Jesus who will physically return one day, is the same God who spoke through Isaiah, saying that He will wipe away every tear and remove the reproach of His people.
If we could dial our heroic father on the phone today and tell him who or what is coming after us, He would say what He said in Deuteronomy:
“Be strong and of good courage, do not fear or be in dread of them: for it is the Lord your God who goes with you; he will not fail you or forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6)
That young Israeli man knew his father was on the way, and he believed in the ability of his heroic dad. Our safe room is where we pause and read these words, remembering that the Lord will never forsake us. It’s the shelter where we can rest safely behind the closed steel doors of His promises of deliverance. Our Father is telling us to stay in our safe room, because He loves us and is on the way. He is a powerful God, our roaring lion of Judah, who will soon crush Satan under His feet.
Lord, you know what causes each of us concern today, and we call upon you, our hero and savior, as we wait safely in our safe room, behind the steel doors of your promises. Jesus, Prince of peace, we ask you to rescue us and all the innocents in Israel today, wiping every tear, and removing all reproach in Jesus’ name. Amen