23 Concerning Damascus.
“Hamath and Arpad are put to shame,
For they have heard bad news;
They are disheartened.
There is anxiety by the sea,
It cannot be calmed.
24 “Damascus has become helpless;
She has turned away to flee,
And panic has gripped her;
Distress and pangs have taken hold of her
Like a woman in childbirth.
25 “How [u]the city of praise has not been deserted,
The town of My joy!
26 “Therefore, her young men will fall in her streets,
And all the men of war will be [v]silenced in that day,” declares the Lord of hosts.
27 “I will set fire to the wall of Damascus,
And it will devour the [w]fortified towers of Ben-hadad.”
The next is this “series” is the city of Damascus, in the region of Syria. It’s a rather short passage, but as we read it, I think many could relate. Even if our bad news isn’t as extreme as the rumors of impending war that would threaten Damascus, though it might be, there is indeed plenty of it to go around.
It would be quite easy to be disheartened, and I’ve certainly been there myself. Beyond that comes anxiety that cannot be calmed, for like Damascus, we feel helpless and possibly even a sense of panic. Yet, the truth is that our help does not come from ourselves, but One who is far greater.
Just yesterday I was reading a story with an allegorical character named Prince Pax. If you’re rusty on your latin that’s Prince Peace… sound familiar? In Isaiah (9:6), God foretold of one who would come as the Prince of Peace. That was fulfilled (along with so many other things) by Jesus, who said, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.” (John 4:27)
Jesus made it clear that He didn’t come to bring the world’s kind of peace, an end to fighting and hostility. At least not yet… When it would be natural to be panicked and anxious, because help seems far away, Jesus calls us to cast our burdens on Him. Not just because He can handle them, but “because He cares for us.” That’s an incredible thing, for the God who made the heavens and the earth, to care about you and I, who might feel small and insignificant.
Yes, we are small, but significant to the One who matters most. We are not called to carry the weight of the world, for God does that already. Rather, we lay that anxiety and distress at His feet and know that He is walking with us through it all, bearing our burdens and guiding our path. Right before that, Jesus told His followers, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.” The Spirit is also known as the Comforter, so lean into that today, and let Him wrap His loving, and peace-filled arms around you.