“And he will become a sanctuary and a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel” (Isaiah 8:14 ESV).

It may come as a shock to some to realize that the Lord can be both a sanctuary and a rock of stumbling.

Those who seek a sanctuary – a place of spiritual protection will find that the Lord will abundantly provide. They who walk in the way of the Lord will find that the peace that passes all understanding will make a difference in their everyday lives. God’s guidance, wisdom and strength is given through the Holy Spirit and will lead us into God’s truth and will.

There is no such peace for those whose attention is upon the immediacy of their situation and over which they stress, with no regard for, or interest in, discerning the Lord’s larger purpose in what is happening around them.

If the faithful can find sanctuary in the Lord, those who have no time for the Lord will find there is no peace of heart, mind, soul, and life outside of a relationship with Jesus. They will find that, in every part of life, the path is far from free of obstacles of one kind or another – financial, moral, ethical, relational, spiritual, physical – all of which must be circumvented or surmounted in their own strength, wisdom, and resources.

There has never been a time when deception and lies were not spread about to deceive the people of God. Those whose firm foothold is in the Scriptures and the revelation through the Holy Spirit will be better able to see through the enemy’s wiles.

The unprepared and the unwary will find life to be difficult as they have no reference points from which to judge anything, life can become confusing and uncertain.

The Lord invites us to come to him and find rest and peace for our souls.

The Lord Almighty …¹⁴ He will be a holy place; for both Israel and Judah he will be
a stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall. And for the people of Jerusalem he will be a trap and a snare. ¹⁵ Many of them will stumble; they will fall and be broken, they will be snared and captured.” (Isaiah :13-15 NIV)

²⁸ “Come to me, all of you who are tired from carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke and put it on you, and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in spirit; and you will find rest. ³⁰ For the yoke I will give you is easy, and the load I will put on you is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30 GNT)

 ²³ Jesus answered him, “Those who love me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and my Father and I will come to them and live with them. ²⁴ Those who do not love me do not obey my teaching. And the teaching you have heard is not mine, but comes from the Father, who sent me. ²⁵ “I have told you this while I am still with you. ²⁶ The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and make you remember all that I have told you. ²⁷ “Peace is what I leave with you; it is my own peace that I give you. I do not give it as the world does. Do not be worried and upset; do not be afraid. 

(John 14:23-27 GNT)

²¹ For God in his wisdom made it impossible for people to know him by means of their own wisdom. Instead, by means of the so-called “foolish” message we preach, God decided to save those who believe. ²² Jews want miracles for proof, and Greeks look for wisdom. ²³ As for us, we proclaim the crucified Christ, a message that is offensive to the Jews and nonsense to the Gentiles; ²⁴ but for those whom God has called, both Jews and Gentiles, this message is Christ, who is the power of God and the wisdom of God. ²⁵ For what seems to be God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and what seems to be God’s weakness is stronger than human strength. (John 1:21-25 GNT)