Judgment, but when?

Today I read Isaiah 21:7-24:9 and Philippians 2:1-23. My favorite verses are:

Isaiah 24:3-4 The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the LORD hath spoken this word. 4 The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languish.

Philippians 2:14-15 Do all things without murmurings and disputings: 15 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world.

It was hard to choose “favorite” verses from Isaiah today because the entire passage spoke of judgment and punishment of the nations. They had refused to acknowledge God and His power—they were haughty, unrepentant. Isaiah prophesied that they would be wiped out; the land would be emptied. There was no word of hope in these verses. Then I went to the New Testament and found that missing hope—Christians are to “shine as lights in the world”. Even though we may live “in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation”, we can still serve God. And we are to do so without whining and complaining. If we allow God to use us in His service, we CAN make a difference. Judgment will still come, but some will have been saved from judgment because of our witness. God, in His mercy, is giving us more time to spread the Gospel; He doesn’t delight in bringing judgment—He wants people to be saved. But he is a just God and must punish the sin of those who refuse to repent. And no one knows when He will say, “It is enough!” We must witness NOW, before it is too late.