GOD IN OUR DISTRESS

All including young children today pray and long for a time when we shall be free from Covid-19, healed from many other diseases and in peace.  

Today’s Old Testament passage; Isaiah 33:1-24, reads in part;

“O Lord, be gracious to us; 
we long for you.
Be our strength every morning,
our salvation in time of distress
... “Look on Zion, the city of our festivals;
your eyes will see Jerusalem,
a peaceful abode, a tent that will not be moved;
its stakes will never be pulled up,
nor any of its ropes broken.
There the Lord will be our Mighty One.
It will be like a place of broad rivers and streams.
No galley with oars will ride them,
no mighty ship will sail them.
For the Lord is our judge,
the Lord is our lawgiver,
the Lord is our king;
it is he who will save us.

Your rigging hangs loose:
The mast is not held secure,
the sail is not spread.
Then an abundance of spoils will be divided
and even the lame will carry off plunder.
No one living in Zion will say, “I am ill” 

The New Testament passage Matthew 15: 29-38 reads in part 

“Jesus left there and went along the Sea of Galilee. Then he went up on a mountainside and sat down. Great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them. The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel.
Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way.”
His disciples answered, “Where could we get enough bread in this remote place to feed such a crowd?”
“How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked.
“Seven,” they replied, “and a few small fish.”
He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, and when he had given thanks, he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and they in turn to the people. They all ate and were satisfied”. 

Both the Old and New testament passages underline the good news about God. He hears and acts on the distress call of His people, heals them from illnesses and brings peace. 
In their fear concerning an imminent attack by strong enemies the Old Testament people in Zion cried out to God for help. God met their cry with the picturesque sight of Zion. Zion of joyous festivities, peaceful abode, supplied with river and streams, full of abundance and all enjoying good health.

The New Testament hungry multitude who went to Jesus with the stress of the longing for their sick persons to get healed, were amazed at seeing their “mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. And in addition, experiencing the miraculous feeding of the four thousand people.