Are You Ready for a Miracle?
Isaiah 7: 1-14
Two men made their way to the city’s edge one day. One was quite young, only 20 years old, but with an awesome responsibility on his shoulders. The other was more mature. He’d been around for a while and seen a few things. As they walked, he tried to encourage the young man. He had advised for a long time that Judah should stay out of entangling alliances, promising that God would intervene, God would protect the descendants of David, and that God was their hope. The year was 735 BC. The older man was the prophet Isaiah. The younger was Ahaz, King of Judah. When he came to power, the Assyrian Empire was asserting itself far to the north. Nearer at hand, the kingdoms of Syria and Northern Israel, from whom Judah had split a generation before, were feeling threatened by Assyria and forming an alliance to protect each other. These small kingdoms wanted Judah to join them. King Ahaz, like his father and grandfather, realized that any such alliance might threaten Egypt to the south and cause them to attack Judah, so they had pursued a policy of neutrality and stayed out of the fight.
But now, the Syrian and Northern Israeli armies were just outside of Jerusalem, having been turned back from their attack. And young Ahaz was not so sure about Isaiah’s preaching. What he saw looked a whole lot more real to him than Isaiah’s promises. Ahaz was afraid, frustrated, and exhausted. Our Scripture says his heart was shaken “as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind” Fear had set in and Ahaz felt like he was stuck between a rock and a hard place. His focus was not on God’s promises but the impending of doom of attack against Judah.
What about you? Ever been between a rock and a hard place? Ever seen the dark circumstances around you and been afraid and frustrated, doubting whether God might intervene? Many of us have experienced the uncertainty of these days and allowed fear to invade our hearts and mind. The people, places and things in which we have placed our security have proven to be less stable than we once thought. Unemployment is still at almost 8% in our state. The banks are still holding onto their money and not allowing new businesses to open and new projects to be built. Retirement funds are a fraction of what they once were. And yet the bills are still piling up. What do you do when you’re stuck between a rock and hard place?
The first thing that Isaiah says is “Be careful.” Ahaz is gripped with fear and he feels the uncertain foundation upon which he stands as circumstances change and danger looms on the horizon. Such circumstances can dramatically influence our thinking, our outlook and our actions. When we start to feel desperate, we think unwise thoughts and do unwise things.
Second, lean not into your own understanding. With Northern Israel and Syria threatening from the north and Egypt threatening to the south, Ahaz starts to think that the best thing would be to align with Assyria, an evil, Gentile empire, which is conquering and pillaging the Middle East. Do you see how cloudy our judgment can be when we’re stressed out and stuck in a hard place? So Isaiah says, it’s a time to stop foolish thinking. It is a time to cut off our self-reliance on our own understanding. The same is true this Christmas season. We need to be careful of the decisions we make in terms of the money we spend and the time we lend. It’s time to reclaim the true meaning of the season and prepare for the coming of the Christ child.
Third, it’s time to trust God. It’s time to stop placing our trust in things or people and trust God. Even in the midst of cloudy forecasts and uncertain economic times, don’t take your eyes off God and this Christmas don’t take your eyes off the Christchild this Christmas. Don’t let it interfere with getting ready for Christ. In this world, there are some things that seek to do you harm. That’s the world we live in. There are some people plotting your demise That’s your Syria and Northern Israel and that’s the world we live in. There are some difficult times, seasons and circumstances you are going to have to face. That’s the world we live in. But regardless of what we face, we can trust God in all times, all places and all circumstances.
Fourth, it will not last. When you’re in the midst of the storm, it can appear and feel like it’s going to last forever. But all storms have a beginning, middle and end. God says what they are planning against you and what you are facing will not last. Don’t place your hope, your joy or your security in anything other than God and the Christ child this Christmas. God says, Get ready for Christmas. Don’t give up on God now. You’ve seen hard times before. You’ve experienced people plotting your demise in the past. You’ve had obstacles in your path which seem larger than life itself. Don’t be afraid. Stand firm in your faith and it will not last.
Fifth, remember God is Emmanuel which means God with us. Jesus would fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah spoken 700 years previously and God would be with us through this man. This is an amazing reality, God had come to us in the flesh in the person of Jesus as God the Son. The infinite, all-knowing, all-powerful Creator of the universe came as a human child, vulnerable, defenseless, and dependent on others to meet his needs. God is with us. Colossians 2:9 “For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form.” This is where Christianity diverges from all other world religions. Most religions believe in a God that is a supreme being of the universe, distant and removed. But the miracle of Jesus’ birth and what is central to the Christian faith is that Jesus is with us.
But that’s not all. Jesus promised that even after his death he would still be with us in the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. God doesn’t want us be alone. God doesn’t want us to be separated from him or from healthy relationships with others. He wants to be close to us and us close to Him. That’s why God came to be with us so that we could experience his presence and be a part of his family, as he walks with us and talk with us. That is why Jesus’ last words to his disciples were, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age" NIV Matthew 28:20. Like bookends to Jesus’ life, he is born Immanuel, God with us, and he leaves with a promise that he will always be with us through the Holy Spirit.
But God is not just with us, sixth, God is for us. The fact that God intervened in our lives through Jesus Christ to repair our broken relationship with God when we could not do so on our own means God is for us. We deserved punishment but received grace. This is our guarantee and assurance of victory in our spiritual lives. It gives us confidence in every situation and struggle in life. The Word of God makes it indelibly clear that God is FOR those who are the called according to His purpose of eternal salvation. “for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.” Philippians. 2:13 Paul leaves no doubt about this when he wrote to the church in Rome, “If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not also, along with Him, freely give us all things?” Romans 8: 31-32
Why did God come to earth? To demonstrate his love for us. To let us know He cares about us so much that He would sacrifice and come to earth as a lowly human being and die for us. God isn’t just a force or a distant judge trying to get you to shape up or ship out. Rather through the promised Immanuel, God communicated to us that He is a personal God who cares for us, listens to us, loves us and is for us. He wants us to know we are not alone, no matter what we go through in life, no matter how isolated we feel, God is with us and God is for us.
Many of us have bought into the idea that we have to stop by Dillard’s, JC Penney, Wal Mart, Target and Best Buy to get ready for Christmas. But getting ready for Christmas means looking for the miracle of Christmas. That no matter what you are facing today, stand firm in your faith and get ready for the miracle of Christ in your life. Hebrews 11:1 “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, of things unseen.” God says preparing for Christ is putting your faith in Him even when you can’t see him. When it appears as if you are all alone and the world is conspiring against you, that’s the time to stand firm and expectantly wait on God. When it seems as if your life is falling apart and it’s unbearable but stand firm. Stand firm and wait on God. Getting ready for Christ means moving toward God even when you can’t see him. Standing firm in your faith is acting on God’s promises even before they have been fulfilled. It’s expecting God to act even when you can’t see him. It’s believing God despite the evidence. God might take his time showing up and acting but he will be on time.
Getting ready for Christmas is getting ready for a miracle. God this Christmas is wanting to do a miracle in your life. This may be a time you not only need to see a miracle, you may need a miracle. There will be times when nothing can help you but divine intervention. Christmas is about getting ready for a miracle. It may not be today but at some moment down the road you’re going to cry out to God, I need a miracle Lord! I’m ready to see the invisible. I’m ready to experience a miracle. Does anybody today need a miracle? Is anybody today getting ready for a miracle?
Part of getting ready is not just looking for a miracle but also asking the Lord your God for a sign. What would God have to do to prove to you He’s God and can work a miracle in your life? God gave Noah the rainbow to show him that he would never flood the entire earth again. He gave Gideon a sign when the angels set his offering on fire at the altar. God showed Pharoah signs and wonders to prove that he was God. And God will show you a sign and that he is God, that he loves and cares for you, that he is not only with you but for you this Christmas. In the midst of doubt and fear, Isaiah says, don’t turn to your left and don’t turn to your right. Don’t rely on your own understanding. Stand firm in your faith, look for a miracle and ask for a sign.
Sharon Atwell tells the story of her daughter Kate in June of 2000 having a backache and diagnosed with leukemia. She went through chemo but by August she had a seizure and was unconscious. While getting treated at St. Jude an infection attacked her brain. Only six cases of this deadly meningitis had ever been documented. It’s wasn’t a matter of if she would die but when. She hung on for 5 months as the family carried on a 24/7 vigil by her bedside, with their other daughter caring for the home and her husband splitting time between work and the hospital. But then the autonomic storms hit which attacked Kate’s nervous system skyrocketing her temp to 109 degrees, her pulse to 240 and her blood pressure to 185/135. When they did subside, her heart would pause between beats that left Sharon pleading for the next heart beat. The doctors told Sharon that they needed to decide if Kate was going to die in the hospital or at home. Her family immediately decided to bring Kate home. Sharon was given a crash course by the ICU staff. Christmas came but it was a subdued holiday. Sharon’s days were filled with caring and checking in on Kate and every time she left the room, she was gripped with fear that Kate would slip away before she got back. Desperation and desolation trapped her. Her church, the doctors and nurses and her husband’s co-workers prayed incessantly for her. Many shared that they felt God’s hand was on Kate and that she was going to recover. So she clung to those prayers and messages of hope given to her as a sign from God.
By March, Kate had another surgery and the doctor said, I see miracles all of the time. When Kate got home, she started to make facial expressions like the ichy face when she didn’t like something. Then she was able to knod and then she was able to follow simple commands and then communicate with one finger. She couldn’t still talk or see but she could blow kisses. Months and months of physical therapy followed. Then in September, Sharon told Kate she loved and Kate mouthed the words back to her. Her sight came back in November. By December, Kate was eating real food. In May of the following year, Kate went to her sister’s graduation ceremony. In December she wheeled the Olympic torch through downtown Memphis. In February of 2002, Kate graduated to a walker and on August 12, she returned to school three years after she had fallen sick. And then Sharon writes, “My baby girl is growing up and growing stronger, moving boldly into her future. And I can only marvel at how, when you live not in fear but in hope, trusting God completely, taking step after step with your hand in his, every day is a miracle.”
