Our God is for us!

"I, even I, am he who comforts you.
Who are you that you fear mortal men,
the sons of men, who are but grass,
that you forget the Lord your Maker,
who stretched out the heavens
and laid the foundations of the earth,
that you live in constant terror everyday
because of the wrath of the oppressor,
who is bent on destruction?
For where is the wrath of the oppressor?
The cowering prisoners will soon be set free;
they will not die in their dungeon,
nor will they lack bread.
For I am the Lord, your God
who churns up the sea so that its waves roar -
The Lord Almighty is his name.
I have put my words in your mouth
and covered you with the shadow of my hand.
I who set the heavens in place,
who laid the foundations of the earth,
and who say to Zion, 'You are my people.'"
Isaiah 51:11-16

This passage is encouraging the people of God, who are struggling under foreign rule, who are crying out for God to send their Messiah, that God is sovereign. There is no need to fear their foreign rulers or the persecution they face, because they are God's people and the Lord, himself, has them covered & protected by the shadow of His hand. It predicts that wonderful, amazing day in the future, when we will spend eternity with God, when we will be set free from our rebellious bodies and be free to be God's people.

For us, as chronically ill, it has an additional meaning too - Because not only can we long for the day when God will take us to heaven to live with Him, but we can also long for Him in the everyday. He is powerful, more powerful that the disease that oppresses us, that causes us to live in constant terror of pain, being isolated and lonely or being unable to rest. He promises us that we will be set free, according to His promises and in the meantime, we can be sure that we will not be consumed and die in the dungeon of our illness and our daily needs (bread) will be provided for. He will give us words to speak, when we cannot find strength to speak ourselves and we are forever, protected and carried in the shadow of His hand. We are His people, because Jesus restored us to God by dying in our place on the cross.

This is the God that Paul speaks of, when he says, "If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31b). God is for you and he is with you today, no matter where you are at, be it a high, happy place or a dreary dungeon, dreaming of death; He is with you today and always.