In the Midst Of The Troubled Sea

“There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.”—Isa. 57:21.

“Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.”—Isa. 58:1.

We will do well to hear and give heed to the clear, prophetic voice of Isaiah as he articulates the message of God. What he wrote for his nation just over three millennia ago is right here in the Bible for us today.

The unsaved world which he labels as “the wicked” is like the turbulent waters of the storm-ravaged seas. They are unsettled. They are tossed to and fro. They are dangerous. They have no peace today; and because of their rejection of the Lord, they will not have it tomorrow. Their way of life has a faulty foundation; consequently, they can never rest. They can have no expectation of anything other than trouble.

On the other hand, the Lord’s mandate to the prophet was “cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet.” What was that about? Even the Lord’s people need a course correction. It was a call to repentance and revival.

If God’s people fall into the same lifestyle as the world, they will find themselves also being tossed as though they too were on “the troubled sea.”

In twenty-first-century America, we are in the same dilemma. “The troubled sea” is always near at hand. We can see the “mire and dirt” that has been churned up by societal storms.

Every preacher needs to rise to the occasion with a trumpet voice. He needs to “cry aloud.” That suggests both volume and boldness. He must have the conviction and the courage to “spare not.” That is, don’t hold back. Proclaim the truth.