Indeed, the Lord who commands armies has a plan, and who can possibly frustrate it? His hand is ready to strike, and who can possibly stop it. (Isaiah 14:27)
My sins, even the small ones, are an anathema to God. He loves me, but detests my treason.
“Do not do that,” he said.
I did it in his face.
Holy wrath stirs, and the mighty hand rises. It’s not some future event, it’s already moving against my anarchy. The hand is poised, twitching with readiness to sweep me into the hellfire I deserve. Yet it pauses. For a brief moment in history, it hovers. It is the moment of grace.
During the moment of grace, the hand of wrath is redirected against Jesus. By his wounds I am healed. I may run to the place of his punishment, and claim it as my own.
Because of the divine substitution, the outstretched hand will not harm me. It becomes a hand of protection. I take shelter beneath its reach, and love overshadows me. At the great judgment, the hand will fall against sin, but not against me. The wrath I deserve has long been spent on my Savior.
God warned of his intention, many times over. Now, the hand is outstretched, ready to slam down. To pretend everything is okay with man’s sin is to inflict the worst cruelty on the unsaved. I must cling to Jesus, and call others to do the same.
The hand will strike. Be ready!
Prayer: God of compassion, extend the moment of grace to save many.