(David) sang to the Lord the words of this song when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. He said: I love You, O Lord, my strength. Psalm 18:1.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7.

God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:6.

This chapter, Ezekiel 7, is difficult to read because though it happened several millenia ago, the same choices are being made today that brought such destruction then. The choices of this fallen world cannot stand. And Creator God – Father, Son, Spirit, tells us to look to Him for the help and understanding we need that only He can bring. The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, this is what the Sovereign Lord says to the land of Israel: ‘The end! The end has come upon the four corners of the land! The end is now upon you, and I will unleash My anger against you. I will judge you according to your conduct and repay you for all your detestable practices…See, the day! See, it comes! Doom has burst forth, the rod has budded, arrogance has blossomed! Violence has arisen, a rod to punish the wicked. None of the people will be left, none of that crowd – none of their wealth, nothing of value. The time has come! The day has arrived!…They have blown the trumpet, they have made all things ready, but no one will go into battle, for My wrath is on the whole crowd…They will throw their silver into the streets, and their gold will be treated as a thing unclean. Their silver and gold will not be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord’s wrath. It will not satisfy their hunger or fill their stomachs, for it has caused them to stumble into sin. They took pride in their beautiful jewelry and used it to make their detestable idols. They made it into vile images; therefore I will make it a thing unclean for them. I will give their wealth as plunder to foreigners and as loot to the wicked of the earth, who will defile it. I will turn My face away from the people, and robbers will desecrate the place I treasure. They will enter it and will defile it…Prepare chains! For the land is full of bloodshed, and the city is full of violence. I will bring the most wicked of nations to take possession of their houses. I will put an end to the pride of the mighty, and their sanctuaries will be desecrated. When terror comes, they will seek peace in vain. Calamity upon calamity will come, and rumor upon rumor. They will go searching for a vision from the prophet, priestly instruction in the law will cease, the counsel of the elders will come to an end…I will deal with them according to their conduct, and by their own standards I will judge them. Then they will know that I am the Lord.’” v. 1-3, 10-12, 14, 19-21, 23-26, 27.

Is anyone ever truly ready for calamity or destruction? Is anyone ever truly ready to receive the knowledge and understanding of the Love of our Creator God? Everything in this life is a choice. The choices we make that truly matter in this life, are the choices to turn away from the hate and anger and arrogance of this broken world. Have we not had enough of that within our own hearts? But where do we go in this world for understanding? Dallas Willard in his devotional, Hearing God Through the Year, shared this beautiful chorus from C. Austin Miles’s “In the Garden”: He walks with me, and He talks with me, And He tells me I am His own, And the joy we share as we tarry there, None other has ever known.” We can know that joy and that love because our Sovereign Creator God is. He knows what we are made of…and…this broken world we inhabit within and without. He also knows what awaits each one of us as we choose Him. Creator God does not sin. He knows the terrible destruction sin brings. He’s ready to help. It’s a choice. Let Him walk with you and talk with you and reassure you that you are His own, dearly loved child, in need of Him. His way is the way of His Love and of trust in His Love as we walk through this very broken world…and the joy we share as we tarry there, with Him, we too can know!