As we spent our first few hours in our new city, one of the most populous cities in the world, my overwhelming impression, summed up in one word, was: LOUD! Streets filled with cars, music pouring out from storefronts, and a general cacophony which arises from streets of a city housing over twenty-three million people just in the city proper.
As I looked around, walking in the midst of the overwhelming lostness here among the revelry and noise of life, I was reminded of a passage from Isaiah:
Isaiah 5:11-14 Woe to those who rise early in the morning that they may pursue strong drink, Who stay up late in the evening that wine may inflame them! Their banquets are accompanied by lyre and harp, by tambourine and flute, and by wine; But they do not pay attention to the deeds of the LORD, Nor do they consider the work of His hands. Therefore My people go into exile for their lack of knowledge; And their honorable men are famished, And their multitude is parched with thirst. Therefore Sheol has enlarged its throat and opened its mouth without measure; And Jerusalem's splendor, her multitude, her din of revelry and the jubilant within her, descend into it.
Everywhere are people living their lives in contentment and the buzz of their fleeting moment in eternity with little to no thought of what is to come. How many are even aware of their sin? How many even know that two millennia ago God Himself took on flesh and gave His life to make a way for them to be saved? If we talked to people every waking second of every day, we couldn't keep up with the birth rate in the metroplex of two cities totaling over fourty-four million souls combined.
The task is overwhelming, and if we looked at our work through human eyes, discouragement would quickly overcome us. It is times like this where the command and promise of Psalm 46:10 ring encouragement and hope through every part of my being:
Psalm 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!
He was here working long before we were born, and He will be here long after we are a fading memory in the minds of men. This is not our work, it is His work, and He has promised He will accomplish it. It is our privilege to be tools in the Master's hand. He has granted us the joy of being a part of what He is doing in this place. With that in mind, the task is not too big for the One who has promised to accomplish it. The burden to reach this place is not ours, but the task of obedience in taking our part in the work is. May the Lord always keep us mindful of this as we wade into the din and clamor of lostness around us, seeking for that inner quiet from which we draw strength, and through which we seek to share the gift of eternal life.
