“The Lord is exalted, for He dwells on high; He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness.  And He will be the stability of your times, a wealth of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is his treasure” (Isaiah 33:5-6).  

There are indeed unstable times; not one of us knows what is going to happen or when.  There is much talk about returning to normal, but no one really knows what that will look like.  People are more or less locked in their homes, businesses closed, and jobs are no longer.  While government seeks to smooth over all this with stimulus money and an increase in unemployment compensation, it is but a bandaid; the real pain will come at another time, and then it will be worse.  

In all this, however, there is a safe place from the rumblings of a fallen world, one ready to collapse at any moment.  There is a rock on which to stand, a tower to which we can run.  There is One who is outside it all, and who beckons all of us to come to Him.  It is the Lord, the one exalted, who dwells on high, “He,” it says, “will be the stability of your times, a wealth of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge.”  

How so?

One truth about God is that He does not change.  While everything around us changes, where uncertainty is now the norm, the Lord is a constant; He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  He is good, He is sovereign, and He has our best interests at heart.  And yes, in His wisdom He allows things to happen that He could easily prevent by His power–which is all the more reason to trust His judgment.  He is good, He loves us unconditionally, and He will see us through every storm if we will but let Him.  

His is a wealth of salvation.  That is to say, there is plenty of it; there is no want of saving grace with Him.  To the Lord belong deliverances from death.  The very name Jesus, the English version of the Hebrew name Joshua (Yehoshua), means “the Lord to save,” or “the Lord our Savior.”  Not only does He save us from our sin and its consequences, but He saves us from the evil things that confront us, that challenge us, that attack us.  By nature God is a Savior.  If a person calls upon Him, He will save that person.  

His is a wealth of wisdom.  The apostle Paul writes, “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor? Or who has first given to Him that it might be paid back to him again? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen” (Romans 11:33-36).  The Psalmist declares, “O Lord, how many are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all” (104:24).  Compared with God’s wisdom, the wisdom of men is foolishness (1 Corinthians 1:20); that is how great the wisdom of God is.  

His is a wealth of knowledge.  God knows everything, absolutely everything.  There is not one thing He doesn’t know.  In fact, everything man knows, God has revealed it to him (Psalm 94:10).  Man thinks he is so smart–think of all that man has accomplished, the things he has made, the inventions, the technology…..God gave him to know these things.  God’s knowledge is so vast and deep that He knows not only the name of every star in the universe, but the thoughts and intentions of every person on planet earth.  Want to know something?  Go to God.  

The fear of the Lord is his treasure.  In other words, God has a treasure chest filled with the best, and the key to that treasure chest is the fear of the Lord.  The fear of the Lord unlocks all of the above–God’s salvation, God’s wisdom, and God’s knowledge.  If you don’t believe me, read the Proverbs.  Read the Psalms.  There are untold blessings for the person who fears (or, reverences) the Lord.  

This can also be taken to mean that the person whose stability is the Lord, his treasure is the fear of the Lord.   I understand this well, as I fear the Lord and I am enjoying all the manifold benefits of doing so.  The fear of the Lord is a treasure to me.  

Like everyone else in most places of the world today, there is uncertainty as to the future with me and my family too.  But I know who holds the future, and when I feel afraid I trust in the Lord.  When I am anxious I pray.  When I wonder what will happen to me, I look to the One who loves me and has promised me a bright future.  When the ground underneath me trembles and shifts like sand beneath my feet, I run to the Rock of my salvation.  I call upon the Lord.  He is my stability in unstable times.  He is my stability all the time.