I lift up my eyes to the hills – where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip – He who watches over you will not slumber. Psalm 121:1-3.

Many are the woes of the wicked, but the Lord’s unfailing love surrounds the man who trusts in Him. Psalm 32:10.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Hebrews 13:8 NKJV.

Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. John 14:27 NKJV.

Reading the above Scripture verses, it’s the same as the day they were written; why they can speak to generations later. And our chapter, Amos 7, shows Creator God – Father, Son, Spirit, showing Amos what could be – and it shows Amos’s heart for the people of Israel. This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me: He was preparing swarms of locusts after the king’s share had been harvested and just as the late crops were coming up. When they had stripped the land clean, I cried out, “Sovereign Lord, forgive! How can Jacob survive? He is so small!” So the Lord relented. “This will not happen,” the Lord said. v. 1-3. And again…This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me: The Sovereign Lord was calling for judgment by fire; it dried up the great deep and devoured the land. Then I cried out, “Sovereign Lord, I beg You, stop! How can Jacob survive? He is so small!” So the Lord relented. “This will not happen either,” the Sovereign Lord said. v. 4-6. And this next vision is so beautiful because the plumb line could be of our hearts…This is what He showed me: The Lord was standing by a wall that had been built true to plumb, with a plumb line in His hand. And the Lord asked me, “What do you see, Amos?” “A plumb line,” I replied. Then the Lord said, “Look, I am sending a plumb line among My people, Israel; I will spare them no longer. The high places of Isaac will be destroyed and the sanctuaries of Israel will be ruined; with My sword I will rise against the house of Jeroboam.” v. 7-9. Amos and God are talking about Israel because Israel did not know or honor God. And the fruit of that not knowing God? Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent a message to Jeroboam king of Israel: “Amos is raising a conspiracy against you in the very heart of Israel. The land cannot bear all his words. For this is what Amos is saying: ‘Jeroboam will die by the sword, and Israel will surely go into exile, away from their native land.’” Then Amaziah said to Amos, “Get out, you seer! Go back to the land of Judah. Earn your bread there and do your prophesying there. Don’t prophesy anymore at Bethel, because this is the king’s sanctuary and the temple of the kingdom.” v. 10-13. Imagine going from being with Creator God in vision and delivering to Israel God’s messages and then listening to this man. He is so small…Israel is so small…and so are we. Amos answered Amaziah, “I was neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet, but I was a shepherd, and I also took care of sycamore-fig trees. But the Lord took me from tending the flock and said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to My people Israel.’ Now then, hear the word of the Lord. You say, ‘Do not prophesy against Israel, and stop preaching against the descendants of Isaac.’ Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘Your wife will become a prostitute in the city, and your sons and daughters will fall by the sword. Your land will be measured and divided up, and you yourself will die in a pagan country. And Israel will surely go into exile, away from their native land.’” v. 14-17.

This morning I sat in quiet with God and read several psalms to Him. Today is a national day of prayer for our country and how our country, like ancient Israel, needs our prayers. And, I prayed for every person in this world. How can we not? And God reminded me that we all of us sin to our hurt…and to pray that all will turn to Him in their hour of great need and distress of spirit…that I, too, was there in great need and distress…and look how He answered me! I need those reminders! How can we not be humbled when we realize we, too, sin and He loves us still. We each of us need that turning point where we see what this broken world truly is – and that nothing in this broken world can save us…only Creator God and He is right here beside us ready with His love to heal our wounded and hurting hearts turned to Him. And in Him is a peace so beautiful we are renewed with hope that is real. Give us this day our daily bread…He is our daily bread! And we need Him daily. And He is here…always.