Title: When Life Is Hard
Text: Isaiah 40:21-31
Thesis: When we wait on the Lord we continue on relying on God for strength.
Introduction
A businessman was late for an important meeting and couldn't find a parking space. As he frantically circled the block, the man got so desperate that he decided to pray. Looking up toward heaven, he said, "Lord, take pity on me. If you find me a parking space, I'll go to church every Sunday for the rest of my life, and not only that, I'll give up drinking." Suddenly, as if miraculously, a parking space appeared.
The guy looked up again and said, "Never mind. I found one."
I love good pie. I especially like a pie that with a pretty crust that crumbles and melts in my mouth. Mary Poppins is credited with a wonderful line regarding the fragile nature of promises. She said, “Like a pie crust, a promise easily made is [a promise] easily broken.” Promises are often made with sincerity but they are fragile and crumbly and sometimes break-up and fall apart..
When we get burned a few times on broken promises we tend to become skeptical of promise makers, especially political campaign promise makers. An election promise is a promise made to the public by a politician who is trying to win an election. They have long been a central element of elections and remain so today. Election promises are also notable for often being broken once a politician is in office.
I admit I did a double take when I heard Newt Gingrich announce that, if elected, he would establish a colony on the moon by the end of his second term in 2020. And despite the fact that the UN says no one country can claim sovereignty over the moon, the US, Russia and China disagree. So the plan is to have a settlement of 13,000 Americans on the moon and then to declare the moon a US state. (Fox Van Allen, Newt Gingrich promises to build a moon colony by 2020: make it a US state, Yahoo! News, January 26, 2012)
Personally I am more interested in a promise that would make for a little more heaven on earth than more earth in the heavens.
I wonder sometimes if we don’t view the promises of God in the same light as we view the promises of a politician. I wonder if we might sometimes think God has not held up his end of the bargain, so to speak, and when that happens, God’s reputation is at stake.
I think that is how the people of Israel were feeling in our Scripture text today. Life was hard and they were not happy.
I. Life is Hard!
Why do you complain, Jacob? Why do you say, Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord; my cause is disregarded by my God”? Isaiah 40:27
They were not happy with their circumstances and from their perspective, God could not see what they were going through, i.e., “my way is hidden from the Lord” and God was disregarding their cause or their right. In other words God was both blind to their circumstances and they were the victims of injustice at the hands of the God who was supposed to be showing them his favor and blessing.
A quick read of Isaiah 40 reflects a prophetic word to the people of Israel in which God tells the people their sins are forgiven and they are not to be afraid because, “Your God is coming!” Isaiah 40:9
Meanwhile they were living in exile in the land of Babylon. Their homeland was in ruins. They cities were destroyed, Their temple was a pile of rubble. Their family members and friends were often either dead or missing. And they had done everything right. They had repented of their sin and they had turned their hearts back to God… now they were wondering, “Where is God?”
I am reading a new book by Skye Jethani titled “With.” It is very well written and in language I can understand and in it he explores the various ways we tend to relate to God. One of those ways is to live life under God. When we live life under God we are diligent in living in obedience to God. The premise is if we do it right and if we live like God wants us to live, then God will bless us. It is something of an understanding or a bargain.
Here’s an example: Steve Johnson is a wide-receiver for the Buffalo Bills. On November 28, 2010 the Bills played the Pittsburg Steelers. In overtime Steve Johnson dropped a pass in the end zone that would have won the game for the Bills. After the game Johnson tweeted God on Twitter saying, “I praise you 24/7!!! And this is how you do me!!! You expect me to learn from this??? I’ll never forget this!!! Ever!!” (Skye Jethani, With, Thomas Nelson, p. 27)
In Steve Johnson’s mind he had given God his worship and in exchange for this he expected to receive God’s help on the playing field. God had failed to keep his end of the bargain and Steve Johnson wasn’t going to forget it.
And neither were the people of Israel. God was apparently blind to their circumstance and unwilling to do justice in their behalf. They deserved to catch that pass in the end zone and win the game…
God wants us to know something that is true about God, even when we are feeling abandoned..
II. When Life Is Hard – Know This!
Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the Everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding, no one can fathom. Isaiah 40:28
Isaiah is saying, “If God can create, surely God can supernaturally intervene in our lives.”
A.W. Tozer wrote many books but most notably his classic: The Knowledge of the Holy. It is a book that was written to urge his readers to “think rightly about God.” The book essentially unpacks the attributes of God or in other words, the things that are true about God. While Tozer cites a large number of attributes and/or characteristics of God, among them are all of the attributes cited in our text:
Note the attributes of God as outline in this text:
• Creator – 40:26 and 28
• All Knowing (All Seeing and All Hearing)– 40:27
• Everlasting
• All Powerful
• All Wise – 40:28
Theologians often attach the Latin word “omni” to the attributes of God, omni meaning “all” or “every.” In acknowledging that God is omniscient or all-knowing; God is omnipresent or everywhere present; God is omnipotent or all powerful, Tozer stated, “Anything God has ever done, he can do now. Anything God has ever done anywhere, he can do here. Anything God has ever done for anyone, he can do for you.” (A.W. Tozer, Leadership Weekly, 10/09/02)
One commentator wrote of the “absurdity of fancying God as careless or incapable.” (The Interpreter’s Bible, Isaiah 40:27-31, Abingdon, p. 444)
Vic Pentz tells of having bought a new blazer at Nordstroms. It was one of those cases you may have experienced where you buy an item of clothing and the more you wear it, the more you realize you don't like it. His blazer wasn't the right color, and to make matters worse, it attracted lint like it was going out of style. After wearing it pretty regularly for six months or so, he stuck it in his closet and didn't wear it for a long time.
“Tucked away in the back of his mind all the while was that famous Nordstrom unconditional-return policy. He thought, I've had this thing for a year and a half. I've worn it lots of times, and there's just no way they're going to take it back. Then deciding he had nothing to lose, he pulled the blazer out, and took it down to Nordstrom's men's department. He walked in and right up to the first salesman he saw and gave this little prepared speech. He said, "I am about to put your famous unconditional-return policy to its ultimate test. I have here a blazer. I've worn it lots. I've had it for a year and a half. I don't like it. It's the wrong color, and it attracts lint like it's going out of style. But I want to return this blazer for another blazer that I like."
He said the salesman shook his head and said, "For heaven's sake, what took you so long? Let's go find you a blazer." Ten minutes later I walked out with another blazer. God is like Nordstrom’s.” When God says something God means it and keeps his Word.
God makes all sorts of outlandish promises that we cannot bring ourselves to believe. Can we? When we get up enough courage or we're desperate enough, we finally take him at his word. He looks at us and he shakes his head. "For heaven's sake," he says, "what took you so long?" (Vic Pentz, "A Twinge of Nostalgia," Preaching Today, Tape No. 88)
God is a God who can and does. Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the Everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding, no one can fathom. Isaiah 40:28 And in verses 29-31 we get a glimpse of what God does, with one slight caveat that has to do with us.
III. When Life Is Hard – Wait by Continuing On!
...but those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:29-31
What does it mean to “wait on the Lord?”
We typically think of waiting as idling away the time in anticipation of something. On Friday Bonnie and I shared one car. We parked my car and drove her AWD so we could get around in the deep snow. On Friday evening I drove up to the village to pick her up and I waited in the parking lot until she had completed her tasks so she could leave. I sat in our idling car checking my email and browsing a couple of online newspapers I have sent to my Droid. But idling is not necessarily what it means when we speak of waiting on God.
Waiting means to carry on with the tasks at hand in a state of trust. We continue on in anticipation that God will act. In waiting we are trusting that God will enable and empower us in our weakness and need. We wait upon and trust God because we believe God’s capacity is endless and God’s reach is inexhaustible.
We typically think of God’s intervention in our lives is designed to change our circumstances… and historically there are wonderful examples of that. In the Old Testament God parted the waters of the Red Sea and vanquished enemies and gave the people water from rocks and so on. In the New Testament God’s spectacularly acted and intervened changing circumstances and lives.
However in our text today, isn’t it interesting that it seems God’s intervention is more about changing his us rather than our circumstances? ...but those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:29-31
Comedian Joan Rivers is 78 years old and is notoriously known for having gone under the knife for multiple plastic surgery procedures. But Joan’s daughter, Melissa, thinks her mom has gone under the knife one too many times. So she staged a Plastic Surgery Intervention for Joan on their WeTV hit Joan and Melissa: Joan Knows Best?
In an interview with Anderson Cooper, Joan admitted to having had 739 plastic surgery procedures which prompted her daughter Melissa to essentially say, the risks outweigh the benefits and enough is enough. But Joan protested saying, “My body is my temple and my temple needs redecorating,”
But that is not the kind of make-over that occurs when we wait on the Lord. The transformation God gives is about the transformation of a person’s character. The transformation God gives is about enabling and empowering us and seeing us through the wrinkles of life.
In II Corinthians 12 Paul reveals something about himself. He wrote of a condition he described as “a thorn in the flesh.” We assume it was some sort of physical malady. It was vexing to him. He described it as “a messenger from Satan.” It was miserable and three times he begged God to change his circumstances but God had another option… changing Paul. Paul said that God spoke to him saying:
God’s grace is enough! “My grace is sufficient for your need. My power works best through your weakness.” II Corinthians 12:1-10
Paul understood that he was to continue doing what he was doing but no longer relying on his own physical strength to do so. His life was to be a life of waiting on the Lord by continuing on trusting that God would renew his strength.
I know this is not the health, wealth and prosperity gospel that believes God exists to transform our circumstances. I know this is not the gospel of Christian consumerism… Christian consumerists expect God to help them catch passes and be healthy, wealthy and powerfully connected. Christian consumerists expect God to change their circumstances more than they anticipate that God may just want to change them by working in and through them.
Conclusion
In a moving tribute for the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible, a local newspaper in Nebraska referred to an incident from World War II. In the spring of 1940, the German army was plowing through France despite the help from more than 300,000 British troops. (U.S. troops were not involved in this battle.) Finally, the Germans surrounded and trapped most of the Allied forces at Dunkirk, a town in northern France. It appeared that the Allied army would face annihilation or surrender. Eventually, through a miraculous outpouring of courage, the British managed to organize an amazing flotilla of hundreds of little ships that evacuated most of the Allied forces. But before the evacuation, at one point when everything looked utterly hopeless, allegedly a British officer sent the following message, condensed into three powerful words: "But if not …." At the time it was a strong message of courage and of ultimate hope in the midst of trouble. The message conveyed that the British would stand defiantly against the Nazis and that God would provide a way through the dark night.
The Nebraska newspaper article went on to explain the background to the three-word message: "But if not" came straight from the King James Bible. As the prophet Daniel and his friends (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego) faced the fiery furnace in Daniel chapter 3, they refused to go down in defeat. Instead, they declared their trust in God even if their mission failed. According to Daniel 3:17-18 they said, "If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thy hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto you, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up."
But if not … words from God that still speak to our hearts today. But if not … words of hope and courage when the world seems dark and hopeless. But if not … words to live by; and for some, words to die by. (Gettner Simmons, "The Words Still Resound," Omaha World-Herald, 4-24-11)
I don’t know what you are dragging today. I don’t know the depths of your struggle. I don’t know the extent of your desperation. But I do know that I have felt what the people of Israel felt and wondered if God cared and about the unfairness’s of life. And every time I have struggled with seemingly unchangeable circumstances I have found that God was at work changing me and transforming me.
After our son committed suicide 18 years ago this March 15th… there was no changing that situation. But there was a change in me as I heard God speak to me through His Word, “My grace is greater than your grief!”
I discovered that the power of God was evident in my weakness as we continued on, relying on God for strength. God may not give us a face lift but we will receive a faith lift. When we wait on the Lord we continue on, relying on God for strength. The reality is simply this: God keeps his promises.
God promises that they who wait on the Lord will renew their strength…some will experience God’s intervention:
• Dramatically and “soar like eagles;”
• Directly and “run and not grow weary.”
• As the amazingly sufficient grace of God’s and “keep on walking!”
I don’t know about you but sometimes it is good enough to be able to walk and walk and walk and walk… by the grace of God that is enough.
