"It is What it Is!" Jeremiah 31: 1-6
The other day I prayed and asked the Lord what He wanted me to preach on tonight and by the end of the day He made it abundantly clear. I went to cut a limb using my chainsaw. The chain got stuck and in my attempt to free it, I broke the chain! Then, to cut the grass, the lawn mower cut off and wouldn’t start. My neighbor saw my plight and offered to let me use his mower. I was somewhat reluctant- given how my day was going but he was insistent and happy to help me. I was motoring along when all of a sudden the belt under the mower deck snapped! So off to the store across town with my riding mower and returned. Then- I’m not kidding- I went to use my cordless weed whacker and discovered that it wouldn’t work- seems I stored it next to my fishing rod and loose fishing line had become entangled in the weed whacker and twisted up so tight around the shaft and caused the motor to burn up!. In the meantime, the water department which I had been calling for 6 months finally showed up to fix a leak. The water department workers tried to sympathize with my plight, thinking he might try to make me feel better by saying, “It is what it is!”
It is What it IS- How many of you have uttered this statement or if not have heard it at least a dozen times over the past week. I’ll be honest- I am not a fan of this phrase for a couple of reasons. It is what it is is an expression used to characterize a frustrating or challenging situation that a person believes cannot be changed and must just be accepted. But what if you don’t want to accept it? We may have no other choice but to accept it. These years since the Pandemic has been such a time. We’ve had to deal not only with a deadly virus, and a lot has changed and frankly not a lot of it has been good. Virtually every social convention has been taken away from us or has changed just about everything we do education, the way we work, the way we do social gatherings, the way we do entertainment, medical care, the way we do politics, even the way we do church has changed. It has created the expression of frustration in our society the likes of which we have never seen. You can’t even go get a meal any more because there’s no help available because nobody seems to want to work. And so we respond by shrugging our shoulders and say- “It is What it Is!”
Or do we? Understand there’s a lot about this situation we don’t have to like and we don’t have to accept, but we have to deal with it one way or another. We have to come to terms with it. We can come to terms with the IT in two ways- go on being frustrated with it and drive ourselves down with hopelessness, despair and confusion, or we can look up- look to God and to Jesus Christ and even though we go through the tough times we know only God is going to get us through this and we are going to emerge- one way or another- with victory and not defeat! How do we do this?
I. Remember Above Everything, In the midst of this season God loves You, even in this season of frustration! It is easy to forget that God loves us. Or it can be easy sometimes to take for granted the fact God loves us…Especially when things aren’t going the way we thought they would go! Israel was going through a time like this. Economically, spiritually, militarily- Israel was falling off a cliff as the Babylonians were circling like vultures over an almost-dead carcass. As the Temple is set ablaze and there is panic running through the streets, it seemed as though God had abandoned them, even though they had ignored the pleas Jeremiah had been preaching for 25 years. Yet through all of this, God says in Jeremiah 31:3 The LORD has appeared ]of old to me, saying: “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with loving-kindness I have drawn you.
How wonderful to know that in spite of how your day is going, or your circumstances or situation- God loves you. He loves you with an everlasting love. Now, this might not mean too much when you are going through a bad day and things keep breaking down- but it’s a whole lot better than thinking God has left you or abandoned you. It’s a whole lot better than thinking that God is somehow punishing you for your sin. A lot of people believe that lie. Jesus tells us in His sermon on the Mount to pray for our enemies, why? “that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”- Matthew 5:45 Some are tempted to think, “God, if you love me, why is all this happening to me?”
II. Because God has a plan! Do you believe this? He then says in the next verse: Again I will build you, and you shall be rebuilt, O virgin of Israel! You shall again be adorned with your tambourines, And shall go forth in the dances of those who rejoice. God is promising one day, that Israel will be rebuilt. That is His plan of restoration. Do you believe that God is always in control and nothing can ultimately stop his purposes on the Earth? After going through some of the stuff I told you about I got to thinking: “Lord, You probably did not plan for me to do this yard work today. You may wonder in these moments of the COVID-19 pandemic and crisis if the Lord is still in charge. It is so critical for us to believe, however, that He is in full control. What possible plan could God be following to include this hideous deadly virus? How could economic ruin and political confusion and frustration be part of God’s plan? God is not wringing his hands or on a break. Sometimes we just can’t see it or understand it but we must remember that God has a plan. That means He is in control. We forget that at times. And yet He says to Israel just a couple chapters earlier in Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Israel as a nation was done-for. Enemy soldiers were rounding up the wealthiest and most educated and stripping them down to their underwear, putting them in chains, and forcing them to march northward into the land of their fears: Babylon. There was no end in sight for them either- unless they were young enough to endure this for the next 70 years. Yet in spite of this, God reminds them that He has a plan. That if they were to submit to Him, they would continue to live, they would one day prosper, they would continue to have families and at the end of it return to their native land. But they had to accept it would have to change, but the first thing they would need to change was their hearts.
We are in the midst of an unprecedented crisis. And I am also talking to people who have recently gotten a bad diagnosis, or a car accident, or a broken marriage. Stuff like this is still happening to people. On a larger scale, Christians are under attack. Churches are in turmoil. More than ever we can relate to how out of control we really are. There is not much we can control. That’s why we must continue to look up and take hold of God. “It is what it is” because we live in this sinful world and the stuff that happens is a result of it. But God still has a plan. I got to thinking, “My neighbor who loaned me his mower is watching me right now. He’s watching how I react to these frustrating things that are going on. I can’t get angry or lose my temper. I’ve got to show him that God has a plan.
III. Keep Doing What is Right, Be Patient, Be Faithful Trust God. Jeremiah 31:13-14. God reminds Jeremiah not only that He has a plan, but that this time of frustration is temporary. Its not going to last forever. God wanted him to press on doing what is good, even when it’s hard. When everyone else is bailing out, jumping ship. In doing this, we are effectively lining ourselves up for His blessing; whatever that may be for our life. Psalm 62:5 says: “Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in Him. He alone is my rock and my Salvation, my fortress where I will not be shaken. My victory and honor come from God alone. He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me. O my people, trust in Him at all times. Pour out your heart to Him, for God is our refuge.”
When we are frustrated, it feels like nothing will change. It feels like no matter what we do or how hard we try, that we will come up short. Again, God wants us to apply patience to the situation and seek Him. God is a God of victory and safety. If we are doing good and trying to walk with Him, even though difficult times will surely come about, He will help us get through those times. If we find that we are frustrated, or moving into anger, we must realize that we maybe hanging onto too much of the issue. That’s when we have to get an attitude adjustment. Sit our selves down, and say- God, I can’t deal with this- you are going to have to take it, because I can’t! If a person is frustrating us, God wants us to act in love towards that person; yes, even our spouse and children. If we don’t, God sees this too, and then we must make right with God and that person. Better to keep the situations as positive as possible and take a break to seek refreshment from God. Remember the love the Jesus offers you. He tells us in Matthew 11:28-29 “Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.’”
It is What it IS? Well Maybe. Now it may not be a sin to get frustrated or angry. However, it’s also no way to live. Jesus came to live and die for frustrated people along with everybody else. Remember He still loves you with an ever lasting love. Remember, God’s got a plan- and He’s got this. Keep focused on Him. Jesus reaches out to you today, this one who died on the Cross, to deliver you and free you from this disappointing and frustrating world we live in. Can we have Salvation in Christ and still be frustrated? Of course. But this isn’t God’s Will for us. If you find that you are battling frustration, anger, or even depression, going to God and giving it all to Him is the best thing we can do. It won’t always be like this! We are just passing through because this world is not our home.
