Ministers and theologians everywhere are saying, “God has nothing to do with disasters. He wouldn’t allow awful things to happen.” Yet, nothing could be further from the truth. This kind of thinking is causing our nation to rapidly miss the message God wants to speak to us through tragedy.

The fact is, we have to have a word from God. Like many pastors, I’ve wept and grieved over awful calamities. I’ve sought the Lord in prayer and through His Word. And I want to tell you, I’ve experienced a grief that’s even deeper than the mourning for innocent people dying. It’s a grief that says if we miss God’s message, if we turn a deaf ear to what He is loudly proclaiming, then much worse is in store for us.
The prophet Isaiah speaks directly to what we’ve experienced. If you object to using the Old Testament for examples, consider Paul’s words on the subject: “All these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come” (1 Corinthians 10:11). Paul makes it clear that the examples of the Old Testament reveal just how God moves in times like ours.

At the time that Isaiah prophesied, God had been dealing patiently with Israel for about 250 years. The Lord had sent “light afflictions” upon His people, calling them to repentance. He was trying to woo them out of their brazen idolatry and back into His blessing and favor.

All the prophets throughout the years had spoken to Israel the same essential word: “Humble yourselves.” Scripture says, “They served idols . . . yet the Lord testified against Israel, and against Judah, by all the prophets, and by all the seers, saying, Turn ye from your evil ways, and keep my commandments and my statutes” (2 Kings 17:12-13).

But God’s chosen nation rejected His call to repentance. “They would not hear, but hardened their necks” (17:14). These people mocked the prophets who called them to humility. And, instead, they “followed vanity, and became vain . . . and they left all the commandments of the Lord their God . . . and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord. . . . Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel” (2 Kings 17:15-18).

The Lord’s first wake-up call to Israel came in an invasion by Assyria. This archenemy attacked two Israelite provinces, Zebulun and Naphtali. Fortunately, the attacks were limited to these two points, and the damage was minimal. Yet God was clearly speaking to His people. The Lord’s chosen nation lost their sense of security and missed the message God was speaking.

Israel then received a second wake-up call and this one was very severe. Two nations whom Scripture calls the “enemies of Israel”—the Syrians and the Philistines—combined forces for a sudden attack. According to Isaiah, this attack came from both “before, and . . . behind” (Isaiah 9:12). This means the invaders came from the east and the west, surrounding Israel. And their sudden attack was totally devastating.

After the attack on the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001, most Americans were asking: Where was God in this sudden invasion? What were His people to make of the disaster that had come upon them? Isaiah tells us God was faithful to speak to His people in Israel’s day: “The Lord sent a word into Jacob, and it hath lighted upon Israel” (Isaiah 9:8). God spoke a clear word and He sent the message to the whole nation.

Beloved, this verse tells us something very important at our own time of devastation. It says simply, “God always sends His word.” Never in history has the Lord left His people clueless in a time of calamity. He has never abandoned us and forced us to figure out things on our own. He always provides a word of understanding.

Even now the Lord is raising up godly watchmen to speak for Him in these times. These shepherds are grieving, weeping and repenting as they seek God’s face. And I believe they’re hearing and understanding the Lord’s message behind the present events. Moreover, they’re not afraid to proclaim dire warnings, because they know they’ve heard from God. They’re compelled to speak of His purposes behind our calamities.

Content Derived from:

WE MUST NOT MISS THE MESSAGE
GOD SENT WAKE-UP CALLS
by David Wilkerson