Sermon – Hope in The Day of Adversity
Introduction - The coronavirus, civil unrest and violence, looming national and personal debt, strained family relationships, and corruption within political parties have provoked a rising tide of fear and an increasing sense of vulnerability in the peoples of the world. Yet nothing seems as painful and unsettling as the death of a loved one. So, what are God’s people to do?
God calls us to reflection in times like these. Consider Ecclesiastes 7:14, “In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that man may not find out anything that will be after him.”
One of the main themes of Ecclesiastes is that God injects our lives with intentional mystery to foster our dependency upon Him. He has even given us entire chapters in His Word to call us to reflection, repentance, and dependence during such times. One such chapter is Isaiah 55.
Though the book of Isaiah was written to Israel, it has wonderful implications for believers today because it reveals the character of God and His disposition to His people. God is speaking to a discouraged people in captivity who have lost loved ones, whose future was uncertain and whose life was hard. These verses unfold His path for moving His people from their thirst and longings to fulfillment, peace, and joy. In this moment of adversity, seriously reflect on what God might be saying to you today. To Deal With The Day of Adversity, God us to reflect, return, repent, rebuild and then rejoice. Focus on the message of this chapter and its application to your situation.
1.God Calls Us to Personal Reflection - Isaiah 55:1-2 “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy?”
God calls us to personal reflection in the day of adversity. Think honestly about the unfulfilled desires, emptiness, and agitation inside your own soul.” The loss you have sustained in this moment, and other losses. Physical losses, job loss, financial losses, broken relationships, personal failures, indulgence in sin habits, etc., how would you describe the state of your soul in response to those losses? Are you hurting, angry, fearful, ashamed, agitated, bitter, guilty, or in despair? I experience all of the above when my brother Henry died of a massive heart attack at 39, another nephew James of died as 39, and another nephew died at 24 of a massive heart attack, and my niece died at 25 being robbed at a convenience store. I had no answers, no reasons and no peace. God was the answer for me and God has an answer for you today. This moment calls us to personal reflection.
2.God calls Us to Incline To His Voice - Isaiah 55:2-6 “Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David. Behold, I made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples. Behold, you shall call a nation that you do not know, and a nation that did not know you shall run to you, because of the LORD your God, and of the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you. “Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near.”
Reflection causes us to realize that our only solution is to return to God and listen to Him, He has everything we need. God has made a covenant to restore everything we seek and need through a relationship with Jesus Christ. In fact, His plan is to not only restore us, but also use us to draw others to Himself. True restoration and revitalization begin in our soul start as we seek God as our solution and calling upon Him for help.
Do you need to reflect and return to God today? Do you need to make Bible reading and prayer a part of your daily experience? Have you been too busy for God? If you have, what changes do you need to make in your life, your schedule and activities to seek the Lord? Who have you been listening to and following instead of listening to and following the Lord? May be today is God’s call for you to reflect upon Him and return to Him.
3. God Calls Us to Repent or To Change Directions – Isaiah 55:7 “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.”
Do you need to change directions? Have you forsaken God in your pursuit for something to satisfy your thirst? If so, we must turn from our way to God in repentance. Change directions. Going our own way and thinking our own thoughts only lead to more emptiness and thirst. If we change directions, we can be sure that God will abundantly pardon our waywardness and forgive our wickedness. Our God delights in mercy, not judgment. Is this a step you need to take? If so, we must confess our sin and forsake our own way. Turn to the things you have neglected. Proverbs 28:13 says, “The one who conceals his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them will find mercy.” If you have been neglecting daily Bible reading, prayer, and local church attendance, the neglect of these practices must be repented of. God commands us to “seek” Him and to forsake going our own way.
4.God Calls Us To Rebuild Our Relationship With Him – Isaiah 55:8-11 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”
When we experience the death of a loved one, or things we cannot control, many times we realize that we need God. Then we discover that we have some work to do. We realize that our thoughts aren’t anything like God’s. We think differently about everything that happens in our life. Our way out of our troubles is different than we would expect, too.
When we start to rebuild our relationship with God, we discover that God loves us, and has given us His word to comfort and sustain us. God has given us all the words we need to reveal His ways and thoughts to us. His word is true and assures us His Word will do exactly what God intend it to do. If we make God’s thoughts our thoughts and choose God’s paths instead of our own paths, God will do His part and bring salvation, healing and wholeness amid our brokenness.
During the moment of brokenness, reflect carefully and honestly. Do you have a regular, daily time with the Lord seeking Him and His ways through His Word and interacting with Him in prayer about what He taught you? If so, is that time with God in His Word making a difference in how you live; are you changing? If you are not spending quality time learning about God’s ways and thoughts, are there lifestyle choices and schedule changes you need to make to increase your personal pursuit of God through His Word?
5. God Calls Us To Rejoice in His Plan for Our Future. Isaiah 55:12-13 - “For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress; instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle; and it shall make a name for the LORD, an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”
God reveals His desire for every person here, who will dare to believe. Here’s what God has planned for the believer: joy and peace in the here and now and in the future to come. God will give us satisfaction in our soul instead of thirst, and fulfillment and contentment instead of emptiness. When you walk outside, it will seem that ‘the hills are alive with the sound of music!’ We can interpret everything differently when we know God’s thoughts and ways and walk in them. Instead of seeing the scrubby desert plants in the parched soul of our heart, you will see stable and useful trees. Old folk used to say, “I looked at my hands and they looked new, I looked at my feet and they did too!” What changed? How they saw God changed, how they saw the world changed, how they saw others changed and how they saw themselves changed. You too can experience that same change. Your changed life will be a testimony to God because only God can heal the brokenness of your hearts and give you the strength to go on.
Living a godly, fulfilled life will not happen accidentally, we must be intentional. To have a fulfilling walk with God, live victoriously over sin, and have an impact for His name in the lives of others, we must deliberately pursue a relationship with God through His Son Jesus Christ. After we accept Jesus Christ as Lord, spend time with God in His Word and in prayer. Then try to assemble regularly with God’s people for instruction, community, and worship. Otherwise, you may misuse this day of adversity. Then, go back to handling life on your own, following our own thoughts and our own ways. Reflecting upon and heeding Isaiah 55 will lead us to the flourishing life God intends His children to have. Jesus said in Matthew 11:28-29, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.”
The day of adversity is more than a day of sadness and sorrow, more than a day of grief and pain, it is another reminder that God is calling each of us. God calls us to personal reflection in this day of adversity; God calls us to incline to His voice. Choose to listen to His voice. God calls us to repent if need be and to change directions because we all must pass this way. God calls us to rebuild our relationship with Him and with others. Finally, God calls us to rejoice in His plan for our future. His plan is that each of us would spend eternity with Him in joy and peace.
Acts 16:31, “And they answered, “Believe in the Lord Jesus as your personal Savior and entrust yourself to Him and you will be saved, you and your household if they also believe.”
Ecclesiastes 7:14, “In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that man may not find out anything that will be after him.” Amen.
