It is always a shocking thing when something or someone you believed to be strong--fails. And fails miserably.
In today's chapters, God talked about various cities and nations that disregarded Him. At the end of the passage, this description of Tyre stood out to me:
"'As you crisscrossed the seas with your products,
you satisfied many peoples.
Your worldwide trade
made earth's kings rich.
And now you're battered to bits by the waves,
sunk to the bottom
of the sea,
And everything you've bought and sold
has sunk to the bottom with you.
Everyone on shore looks on in terror.
The hair of kings stands on end,
their faces drawn and haggard!
The buyers and sellers of the world
throw up their hands:
This horror can't happen!
Oh, this has happened!'"
It's amazing how often we think things are invincible. Whether it's a celebrity, a church leader, a company, a nation--often we put things and people on pedestals they were never meant to stand on. And then we're surprised when they fall.
In this excerpt, Tyre is described as a rich place. And when it sinks, observers are terrified. They think it's horrifying.
Why? It's not like the observers were part of Tyre's demise--they just observed it. Why would it be horrifying to them?
I think part of the answer is because when the things people consider mighty fall, it completely shakes up their thinking and their quicksand-like foundations. The truth? Things and people are not invincible--people make mistakes, things disappear, people die, and things lose value.
That might sound morbid and depressing, but I'm mainly trying to say that you can't put your faith, hope and identity in people or things.
On the other hand, God is invincible, all-powerful, loving and continually faithful. He is mighty. And He never falls. Never.
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