Strengthen the faint hands and steady the trembling knees! Tell those with anxious hearts: “Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance; with divine retribution, He will come to save you” (Isa 35:3-4, BSB).
Man was originally gifted with a noble, well-balanced mind, but through his disobedience, his powers were perverted, and selfishness replaced love. His nature had become so weakened by transgression that it was impossible for him, in his own strength, to resist the power of evil. He was made captive by Satan and would have remained so forever had not God specially interposed.
It was impossible for us, of ourselves, to escape from the pit of sin in which we are sunken. Our hearts are evil, and we cannot change them. “Who can bring out clean from unclean? No one!” (Job 14:4, BSB). “Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? Neither are you able to do good— you who are accustomed to doing evil” (Jeremiah 13:23, BSB). “Because the mind of the flesh is hostile to God: It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so (Rom 8:7, BSB).
For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16, BSB). God gave Him not only to live among men, but to bear their sins, and die their sacrifice. “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29b, BSB). He is our sacrifice, our Advocate, our Brother, bearing our human form before the Father’s throne, and through eternal ages one with the race He has redeemed. Through transgression, the sons of man become subjects of Satan, but through faith in the atoning sacrifice of Christ, the sons of Adam may become the sons of God.
Satan seeks to portray the Lord as lacking compassion and mercy. He distorts the truth about God and fuels false subjects of who He is. Instead of focusing on the true nature of our heavenly Father, we dwell on Satan’s misrepresentations and dishonor God through distrust.
What is the truth about the Lord? Hebrews 7:25 states: “Therefore He is able to completely save those who draw near to God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for them.” Proverbs confirm this: “Say not thou, I will recompense evil; but wait on the LORD, and he shall save thee” (Pro 20:22, KJV).
The truth about the Lord is this: There is no other God but Me, a righteous God and Savior; there is none but Me. Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth, for I am God, and there is no other” (Isaiah 45:21b-22, BSB). It is also true: The captive will soon be freed; he will not die in the dungeon, and his bread will not be lacking (Isaiah 51:14). Moreover, the Lord says: “Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool” (Isaiah 1:18, BSB).
The truth about the Lord is this: that the wicked man forsake his own way and the unrighteous man his own thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that He may have compassion, and to our God, for He will freely pardon (Isaiah 55:7, BSB), and that all may come to Him, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest (Mat 11:28, BSB).
