The Night Notre-Dame Refused to Fall

On April 15, 2019, the world watched Notre-Dame de Paris burn. Flames devoured the 850-year-old roof. The iconic spire collapsed in a shower of sparks. Thousands gathered along the Seine, many on their knees, singing Ave Maria through tears. For hours, no one knew if the cathedral would survive.

Then, just before midnight, Paris Fire Brigade commander Jean-Claude Gallet emerged from the smoke and spoke the words the crowd had been desperate to hear: the structure was saved. The stone vaults had held. The great rose windows survived. A sound rose from the riverbanks — not just relief, but something closer to resurrection joy.

Isaiah saw a similar scene. A people in ruins, watching, waiting, barely daring to hope. Then a messenger appears on the mountains, and the words cascade like water over parched ground: Peace. Salvation. Your God reigns. The watchmen shout. The ruins themselves burst into song.

The prophet knew what that Paris crowd discovered — that the deepest joy doesn't come from never facing loss. It comes from hearing, in the wreckage, the unmistakable voice of good news. The Almighty has not abandoned His people. What seemed destroyed will stand again. And all the ends of the earth will see it.