Isaiah 24:14-16a They raise their voices, they shout for joy;
    from the west they acclaim the Lord’s majesty.
Therefore in the east give glory to the Lord;
    exalt the name of the Lord, the God of Israel,
    in the islands of the sea.
From the ends of the earth we hear singing:
    “Glory to the Righteous One.”

Read in context, this is a rather jarring juxtaposition. Isaiah was devastated at the destruction he was seeing around him, and then we have this passage of praise to God. It would seem that the conquering army was acting as God’s agents! We actually are in this sort of situation not infrequently. We might be personally righteous, but society around us is in need of a drastic course correction. We might feel as much distress as Isaiah did! However, what we need is perspective. God knows who is right and who is wrong, and we need to trust Him with that. We are to stand up for what He shows us is right, but at the same time allow Him to bring that to pass in His way on His schedule. The scene in this short section is actually quite glorious, with praise rising to God from the ends of the earth. We need to desire that enough, and trust God enough, that we ourselves praise Him even when things are totally falling apart around us.

This is something I have known as objective fact for a long time, but walking it out isn’t always easy! I can talk a good talk, but living it out is always the challenge. As James emphasizes throughout his letter, words without actions can be empty indeed. As Paul said, I need to “Always give thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Ephesians 5:20) Anything less than that means I’m not believing and trusting Him fully.

Father, thank You for this reminder. You are always more than gracious to me, yet I complain about the silliest things, like the lady on the motorbike just a few minutes ago who failed to use her turn signal. You told me personally years ago that You aren’t happy with everything that goes on, leaving me with the strong impression that I’m to trust Your “endgame” for it all. Many are speaking these days about Christ’s imminent return. Help me leave it all in Your hands and be faithful to fulfill each task You have for me, giving You praise and thanks in the process. Thank You. Praise God!