Scripture:
Isaiah 41:8-16 NKJV
[8] “But you, Israel, are My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, The descendants of Abraham My friend. [9] You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, And called from its farthest regions, And said to you, ‘You are My servant, I have chosen you and have not cast you away: [10] Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’ [11] “Behold, all those who were incensed against you Shall be ashamed and disgraced; They shall be as nothing, And those who strive with you shall perish. [12] You shall seek them and not find them— Those who contended with you. Those who war against you Shall be as nothing, As a nonexistent thing. [13] For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand, Saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you.’ [14] “Fear not, you worm Jacob, You men of Israel! I will help you,” says the Lord And your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. [15] “Behold, I will make you into a new threshing sledge with sharp teeth; You shall thresh the mountains and beat them small, And make the hills like chaff. [16] You shall winnow them, the wind shall carry them away, And the whirlwind shall scatter them; You shall rejoice in the Lord, And glory in the Holy One of Israel.
Observation:
I’m just going to be honest. I really didn’t want to write about this portion of scripture, but as I was searching for where GOD wanted me to land this morning it just kept coming to my heart. I felt like it was a new testament morning but, my plans are not up to me. I have to follow what HE tells me regardless of everything around me. My first thought was to write about Philippians chapter 3 verses 12 through 16, because that’s honestly where I feel like I am, just pressing on, moving forward to the best of my ability (which seems rather insignificant) to get to where GOD has called me, drudging the path to happy destiny. But like I said Isaiah would just not leave me alone. These verses were like that annoying little kid that keeps on pulling on your shirt saying, “Hey Mister, pay attention to me,” so here we are. First and foremost I have to say out of the books written by the prophets, It’s a toss up for my favorite. Although I associate my life the most with the book of Hosea, I seem to get the most hope for redemption out of Jeremiah and Isaiah. The scene painted for us in Isaiah chapter 6 always takes my breath away, while Jeremiah seems to have a way of painting pictures through the events that he sees, Isaiah’s approach is a little different. Speaking in a prophetic manner here in the 41st chapter of his writings, he is speaking to the nation of Israel. He was speaking of future events. Israel and Judah were not yet in captivity… but it was coming, and Isaiah knew it. This portion of scripture serves as a message to stay strong in the face of whatever is in front of them. You see HE saw it coming and knew the purpose of it. As I spoke of at the beginning of this Isaiah and Jeremiah were basically writing about the same event. Jeremiah’s prophetic statement about this event is in the 29th chapter of his book. While we find Isaiah’s here in chapter 41. Both have the same purpose, to encourage Israel to stand strong and seek GOD. The first statement made is a reminder of exactly who they are, descendants of Abraham, HIS friend. Showing them that they have been chosen to serve HIM. That means everything that happens in their lives and the history of the nation will serve as part of GOD’S divine plan. The statement made in verse 10 is a statement made over 300 times in the bible. Although I have never counted them personally, some believe it’s said in one form or another, 365 times. That would be once a day for a year. What I would like to say about that is, if GOD says something one we probably should take note of it. If HE says something 300 times…. He wants that to be driven. into your skull so deep that it is never forgotten. This passage speaks of a lack of fear but it also gives the reason for it, “Fear not for I am with you.” GOD was not moving Israel into a dangerous spot without HIS protection. HE is going to be there with them, empowering them, leading them, lighting the path so that they could overcome the obstacles. In verses 11 through 16 GOD acknowledges that HIS chosen people are weak but promises transformation, by calling Jacob a worm, but also saying HE will make them into a new threshing sledge. This is a very empowering statement. Sure victory was given, changing the position in which they would fight from, turning the giant that was in front of them into a headless corpse, trampling all over the obstacles that were in the way, and turning mountains into small piles of dust.
Application:
Approaching seemingly overwhelming situations with confidence is difficult. That’s why the very first piece of armor is so important. GOD never promises smooth sailing. In fact what HE tells us through Paul is to, “ Fight the good fight of faith.” This tells me it’s not going to be easy. There will be things that will challenge you, and in those moments, GOD knows your weaknesses, and will protect you and empower you as you walk through them with confidence. But cowering back is not an option. The verses I had planned to write about play a part in this SOAP. As Paul was writing the letter to the Philippines he was facing the genuine possibility of execution, and with that in sight he says I press on. Facing the heavy stuff dose not mean GOD is not with you. In fact it’s the opposite. Its in our weaknesses that HE is strong. That doesn’t mean that we give into the weaknesses what it means is through HIM we overcome them. In the book of Revelation there are a lot of crowns given as rewards for life here on earth. One of them goes to the over-comer. What I know about that is very little…. But I also know that I have overcome so much in life because GOD has called me and HE protects me from myself at time. It doesn’t mean we won’t go through it… HE gives the biggest battles to the strongest warriors. What I know today is that i am not a coward in a church pew I’m a soldier on the front lines. We face things that are to big for us, but nothing is to big for HIM. In the face of walls to big to climb, Joshua heard the LORD say march around the city and he did exactly that. As the vibrations of thousands of soldiers shook the mortar loose between the stones the battle cry was a worship song, and the walls fell down. Its not about what you can do in the fight. Its about being fearless because of “WHO IS WITH YOU” the battle doesn’t belong to you. Its HIS, so give it to HIM and just worship in the process.
Prayer:
Father, you are so much bigger than anything we face. Even though at times life my seem overwhelming, you have made us over-comers. Nothing is to big for you. Where there seems to be joyful way you make a way. As we stand here in the face of what is way to big for us, we know that we are not alone. Yes our armor has dents, yes we face things that set us down, but we are not coward. We will press on no matter what it looks like. You have called us to serve you, and serve you we will. With 5 smooth stones, you know it’s only going to take one. Because you have seen the battle we face before we even know its coming. Father I pray that today you would take away the heart of stone that is in the chest of not only my wife, but me as well. As I stand here without fear because you are with me your rod and your staff they comfort me. I may walk through the valley of death but you said we are going to the other side, and i am pressing for that…. Rising like heaven is waiting. Its in the mighty name of Jesus we pray amen.