“Therefore I will make the heavens tremble; and the earth will shake from its place at the wrath of the LORD Almighty, in the day of His burning anger.” Isaiah 13:13
Our God is faithful and His heart is for us, but He is also a wrathful God. He is perfect, and in the same way that darkness cannot remain in the presence of light our imperfection cannot remain in the presence of His perfection for long. We are warned multiple times that His day is coming, the day the whole world will see His power.
Here in Isaiah 13, we see a small part of the picture: a day that makes the land desolate, when the stars go dark and the world is punished and the sun stops shining (verses 9-13). Can you imagine that day? Can you even begin to fathom the fear that will fill the hearts of people around the world?
The wonderful thing is, along with the promise of God’s wrath we have the promise of His mercy. As God’s people, we have hope even in that day. In the midst of the wrath, we can trust God’s power for something else—protection.
Just one chapter earlier in verse 2 we are reminded, “Surely God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD, is my strength and my song; He has become my salvation.”
Our imperfection cannot stand in the light of His perfection, but He loved us enough to have the blood of Jesus shed in order to cover us with His perfection.