Isaiah 25:4 For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.
If you are like me, you may not especially enjoy daylight savings time. Many people don’t like how dark it is when they get up in the morning once the time changes in the spring. All of us, though, are accustomed to seasonal change. We layer up or we lighten up depending on the weather and the season.
Perhaps we have a business that has what we call seasonal help, help that is needed at some times and not at others. Many of us have what you might call seasonal friends, not that they are fair-weather friends, but they are friends for different times of your life. For instance, you may have a birthday party friend who enjoys having a good time, cake, and a party. But, when the chips are down and times are hard, they don’t know how to make that transition. Other friends may be very helpful in serious times, but they tend to rain on your parade. You have some dream and they say, “Well, that’s not very realistic.” Either way, you have friends that are what you need at certain times.
Let me tell you that God is not merely seasonal help. He is not merely a source in some seasons but not in others. In Isaiah 25:4 the prophet is addressing God directly and he says, “For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.” What Isaiah is essentially saying is that God is your source in every season. God is the answer to what you need and who you are. So, God is a strength to the poor and needy.
Recently I was driving home to Tennessee from South Carolina, and I noticed very quickly that the fuel prices have shot way up just in the last week. Well, what is fuel? It is a source of energy and strength. That is why you eat. It is strength. So, God is a strength to the poor and needy. Now, you may be lacking financially, but a person can have all kinds of money and yet be broken because of some kind of other need, maybe an emotional need in their life. So, God is a strength to the poor and needy. Wherever you are needy, God is the strength you need in your distress.
God is a refuge from the storm. I’m on the road quite a bit in revival meetings that we conduct, and so my family and I have a fifth wheel for when we are on the road. I love our fifth wheel, but if it is blowing outside, you can feel it because the trailer is rocking back and forth slightly. If it is raining, you kind of instinctively duck because you can hear the rain on the roof. If it is snowing, you may be a little cold even with the trailer’s heat on. In other words, it is not the ideal refuge from a full-on storm, but God is a refuge from the storm. If there is a storm, you want something that is solid. You might want a basement, a bunker, or a cinder block cabin that is stout against the storm. The Bible says that God is a refuge from the storm.
The last part of this verse says, “When the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.” He is not merely talking about the meteorological conditions. He is talking about people who rage or storm against you. Maybe you have been on the edge of land where the water and ocean meet and there was a big storm wall there. God is a refuge like that. When life is raging against the wall, God is that refuge.
God is a shadow from the heat. The verse says, “A shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm.” Verse 5 says, “Even the heat with the shadow of a cloud.” God is like a refreshing cloud on a summer day that comes between you and the merciless sun that is beating down on your head.
Now, in verse 1 it says that God’s “counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.” Then, in verse 9 he says, “This is our God; we have waited for him.” Friend, God is your source in every season and your help for every need. So, do you seek Him that way? Do you seek Him merely on Sunday? Do you seek Him on bad days or do you seek Him every day? Whatever your need, God is the answer to the lack, the need, and the concern. God is your source in every season.