Two Very Different Cities!

For several weeks we have been studying this prophetic chapter which gloriously describes the coming of Christ's Kingdom and our salvation. Isaiah calls it God's "strong city" whose walls and ramparts God has made salvation, whose gates open to allow the righteous nation to enter, a nation that keeps faith, and whose people's minds are steadfast in their trust in God and thus God keeps them in perfect peace.

But there is another city which Isaiah characterizes as "the lofty city" (verse 5). The proud people in this city God will humble. He will lay the city low and cast it in the dust. Finally the feet of those who had been poor and oppressed will trample over its territory. From the proud Pharisee who trusted in himself, to those who at the judgment relied on their own good works and shall hear the Lord say that he never knew them, from Herod to Pharaoh, the proud will fall. All who look to themselves and their own strength will fail. All who trust in anything but the finished work of Jesus Christ can expect this destiny.

Yet God will smooth out the path of his people who trust in the Lord as their eternal Rock (verse 4). Even though we Christians sometimes really wonder if we are following a smooth path at all, especially when faced with the trials and suffering which God leads us through, it is actually level and smooth. If we were going it alone, it would be like climbing a mountain. We would be exhausted and out of breath. But with the Holy Spirit as our guide, with Christ as our Savior, with the ever-abiding presence of the Father, we are not alone. We do not walk alone. And because we can lean on the strength of God, it is not truly an uphill climb; it is walking on a level path.

All of us know what it is to climb a steep hill, unless you live in the flat lands and don't know what a hill is. (Come to Tennessee, and we'll go for a walk!) You huff and puff up the hill and think you are going to give out before you make it. And then, there it is: the level ground. And you relax, breathe easier, and enjoy your walk.

We have reached level ground in Christ. When we enter the city by faith, he smoothes out the path. In spite of the problems of life, let's relax and enjoy the wonderful walk with our Savior