Isaiah 26 is the Word of the Lord for people who are experiencing the judgments of the Lord.

When the judgments of the Lord are on the earth they shift the dialogue that humanity has with God and with others. The chaos, social pressures, lifestyle changes and emotional turbulence that comes with the judgments constrain our hearts into conversations about the issues that the Lord wants to discuss with us. When His judgments are on the earth what we talk about, why we talk about it and how we talk about things – changes.

Sometimes the hardships bolster previously held belief patterns and lifestyle choices. Sometimes the new trouble confronts us with inadequate aspects of our world-view so that our hearts become open to see things through a new paradigm. Having conversations that lead us to embrace God’s perspective is THE point to every judgment of the Lord. The Lord calls this “learning righteousness”.

“When Your judgments are on the earth, the inhabitants of the word learn righteousness.” (Isaiah 26:12)

Whether we’re redeemed or unredeemed, righteous thinking doesn’t come automatically, or naturally to us. It’s a gift that comes from conversing with God about what’s in our heart. What we believe determines whether we’re  embracing righteousness or unrighteousness.

It was in conversation with God that Abraham determined to believe God. Romans tells us that when Abraham embraced what God was saying and promising, “it was accounted to him for righteousness” (Romans 4:3). In other words, Abraham “learned righteousness” (or allowed himself to be embraced by God’s righteous order) when he believed what God was telling him about his life-situation.

Again, this is where all the judgments of the Lord are designed to take us.

For example, in March of 2020, a plague touched all 195 nations at the same time. Within a week the whole planet was talking about COVID; where it came from; how to protect ourselves; and how to respond to the civil and economic pressure it was imposing upon us etc. The Lord was forcing 7.4 billion souls into conversations about how vulnerable we were, and where we could find authentic stability and security.

Right now the inhabitants of the earth are having conversations about Russia and Ukraine and NATO. The Lord is allowing the international threat to confront our hearts with questions like, “Why is God allowing this to happen?” “Where can we find justice in a world filled with dangerous and evil intent?”. Every time we ask the Lord, “How do You want me to pray for Ukaraine?” We’re declaring, “We want to learn righteousness!” This is the dead-center, focused objective of all judgment: to bring our naturally wayward hearts and minds into agreement with His Son’s righteous ways. He wants us to think and pray and behave the way His Son does.

God’s righteousness learning process, however, presents humanity with a three-fold problem:

A. In order to learn how Jesus feels about a situation we must enter into conversation with Him. And when He’s brought an issue up, and the whole world is (knowingly or unknowingly) buzzing about the issues that He wants to talk about – well… no one wants to admit that they do not know something about something the whole world is talking about. This is especially true for Christian leaders and teachers. Admitting we don’t know is like saying, “I’ve not sought the Lord’s heart about this matter.” What prophet/pastor/teacher wants to admit that? Consequently, apart from having a humble, ardent, ground-breaking dialogue with the Lord we will and do default to carnal ways of thinking. This is the natural order of the world.

B. Secondly, when the enemy sees that we are not seeking the Lord, he will lead us by the nose with pride and introduce us to false and destructive lies about the circumstances. The Bible calls these false and destructive narratives “conspiracies” (2 Samuel 15:12; 2 Kings 15:15 & 30; Isaiah 8:12; Jeremiah 11:9: Ezekiel 22:25; Acts 23:13). Our pursuit of these figments and evil reports keep us angry, suspicious, malicious, self-justified and disconnected from the heart to heart conversations that the Lord wants to have with us. Bingo. This is the enemy’s goal.

Isaiah specifically warns us from letting conspiracies have this effect upon us:
“Indeed this is what the Lord told me quite forcefully. He warned me not to act like these people: ‘Do not say, ‘Conspiracy,’ every time these people say the word. Don’t be afraid of what scares them; don’t be terrified. You must recognize the authority of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. He is the one you must respect; He is the one you must fear (in the time of judgment) He will become a sanctuary. But (He will also be) a stone that makes a person trip and a rock that makes one stumble.” (Isaiah 8:11-14)

C. If our primary response to the calamity that’s on the earth involves our hearts being bound up in conspiracies about rigged elections, globalists, deep state, race, healthcare collusion, church closures etc. etc. etc… we must understand – we’re being distracted from the main event! The Lord is returning to the earth, (Isaiah 40:3-5) and He is actively drawing His Bride to BE WITH HIM WHERE HE IS – in spirit and in truth. The Lord wants to talk to us about the real-time attitudes that are keeping us from leaning upon Him (Song of Songs 8:5). Instead, we’re preoccupied with digging up more dirt about sinister forces that are attached to unsubstantiated storylines. The conspiracies keep us independently eating from “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (Genesis 3:22) and we never cultivate intimate dependence upon the Lord and what and why He, the Prime Mover, is actually doing on the earth.

What’s the solution?

One. Simple. Activity: PRAYER

“Come, my people, enter your chambers, and shut your doors behind you; hide yourself, as it were, for a little moment.” (Isaiah 26:20)

Prayer is THE ONLY SOLUTION to the judgments of the Lord. As the famous revivalist SD Gordon once observed: “You can do more than pray after you pray; but you can do no more than pray until you pray.”

Prayer. Prayer, where we linger long before the glory of the Lord; where we receive revelation upon revelation of His perfect ability to lead weak people. Prayer, where we learn the importance of being silent before the revealed glory of the Lord. Prayer, where humility and repentance becomes our posture before the Eternal One. Prayer, where we learn the heart and ways and power of our King.

Prayer is where our deep convictions and narratives are forged. If we’re not praying we WILL miss the Lord’s point AND His plan for the judgments that are on the earth.

Millions of Bible-believing Christians will miss the purposes of the Lord during this hour – and perhaps even forfeit the righteous reign of the Lord, for one very simple reason – they never gave themselves to prayer.

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JSB • March, 2022