I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron: And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the Lord, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel.
Look at your neighbor and tell them, He’s working it out.
Now look at your other neighbor and tell them, even when I can’t see it.
My brother’s and sisters, we love testimonies that end in victory, but we struggle in the middle of the process.
We shout at the breakthrough, but we question God in the buildup.
We praise Him when the doors are opens, but we panic while we’re still standing in front of the doors.
But I came to tell somebody today: God does His best work behind the scenes. God does some of his best work when we don’t understand it, and when we don’t see it.
We may not see Him.
We may not feel Him.
We may not even understand Him.
But that does not mean that He’s not working it out.
May I tell you that He’s working it out, regardless of what it look like.
The book of Isaiah is written during one of the darkest periods in the history of Israel.
God’s people are in the Babylonian captivity. They are exiled, broken, displaced, and discouraged. They are not in their homeland. They have lost their temple, they have lost their identity, and they have lost their sense of direction.
But here’s what makes Isaiah 45 unusual and powerful:
God speaks about King Cyrus, who is a pagan king, but yet in Isaiah 45:1 God calls him His anointed, even before Cyrus is born.
God is telling Israel: I have already assigned someone to you that you don’t even know, in fact he doesn’t even know who I am yet, but I have assigned him to fix what you think is unfixable.
That’s shouting ground right there.
While Israel is crying in captivity, God is already shaping a ruler in another nation, in another culture, with another belief system to become the instrument of their deliverance.
Look at what God was doing. God was working it out for generations in advance.
May I tell you that you may be going through something, you may feel as though you are in captivity, but I need to tell you PTMC, that God is working it out on your behalf.
Let’s look at the text. In Verse 2 he says, I will go before thee.
In other words, he is not a God who follows behind us to clean up mistakes. Instead he is a God who goes ahead of us.
Tell your neighbor, God is already there.
Before the obstacle shows up, He’s already been there.
Before the enemy plots against you, He’s already there, to interrupted the plans of the enemyen.
Before the door closes, He’s already there with a key.
I know that things might look a bad. I know that times might seem a little hard. But it’s ok.
May I tell you that the crooked places in our lives represent confusion, delay, detours, and things that don’t make sense. But I can hear God saying, I don’t remove every crooked place, but I straighten them.
Meaning:
We won’t always avoid the struggles, but you won’t be broken by them either.
In Verse 2 he says: I will break in pieces the gates of brass.
Gates of brass, and bars of iron were symbols of impenetrable security. In the ancient cities, these gates said, you are locked out.
But God says, what looks unbreakable to you, is breakable to Me.
Tell your neighbor, these gate is temporary. Somebody song a song that reminds me that trouble won’t last always.
So, here it is:
That addiction is temporary.
That delay is temporary.
That opposition is temporary.
If God says He’ll break it, it doesn’t matter how strong it looks, or how strong it is. If God says that he’s going to break it, yo can consider it broken.
Verse 3 talks about the Treasures of darkness.
This is where it gets deep.
God doesn’t say treasures of light. He says treasures of darkness.
That means there are blessings hidden in some places you didn’t enjoy being in.
Ok, let me see if I can may it make sense. Some of things that we have gained didn’t come from the good seasons, it came from some the dark seasons.
Some of your discernment came from some betrayals.
Some of your strength came from some survivals.
Some of your prayer life came from desperation.
Tell somebody, I didn’t lose everything in the dark, I gained some things in the dark.
There are some things that are only developed in the darkness.
Roots only grow in the darkness.
Negatives of from a photo are developed in the darkness.
What you carry now couldn’t survive the spotlight then.
We must understand that light shows you off, but darkness builds you up.
I didn’t lose anything in the dark; I was being developed.
Some strength only shows up after the lights go out.
And if it survived the night, that means it’s ready for the day.
The dark didn’t break me, instead it trained me.
God hid me so He could shape me.
May I tell you that this anointing has some midnight on it.
There are some things God will only grow in the dark, because if He grew them in the light, we’d take the credit.
God says the reason I let you go through it, is so that you would know who I am.
The Lord wants us to know that he is a sovereign God, and that God is sovereign over everything:
It doesn’t matter how long it takes, because he is sovereign over: Time
It doesn’t matter where it is at, because he is sovereign over: Nations
It doesn’t matter who’s in charge because he’s sovereign over: Systems
It does not matter who tries to bring you down because he’s sovereign over: People
It does not matter what they try to put in place to try and stop you, because he’s sovereign over all of the: Processes
He doesn’t just fix outcomes, He controls the setups.
We thought it was delayed. But God says it was positioned.
We thought it was denial. But God says it was development.
We thought it was over. But God says, I’m still working it out.
Here it is: I know that when I can’t trace Him. I can trust Him.
When doors are closed. He’s working it out.
When it doesn’t make sense. He’s working it out.
When I’m tired but still standing, it’s all because He’s working it out.
Here it is: When I don’t know how, I know that He’s working it out.
I’m reminded of the story. There was a woman who ordered a custom piece of furniture. Weeks went by, and she heard nothing. No updates. No pictures. No progress reports. She got frustrated and called the craftsman.
She asked, is anything happening, or did you all forget about me?
The craftsman replied, no ma’am I didn’t forget you. I just couldn’t show you what I was doing yet, because it wouldn’t have make sense while it was still in pieces.
He said, if I showed you the wood before it was sanded, you’d complain.
If I showed you the frame without polish, you’d doubt the quality.
If I would’ve stopped midway, you’d think I failed.
But when it’s finished, he said, you’ll understand why I needed the time.
I can hear God saying we are not forgotten. He not finished yet.
What we see right now is just the pieces, but God is the Master Craftsman.
And when He’s done. We will say, Now I see why He worked it out that way.
Somebody ought to declared this morning:
Even in the dark.
Even in delay.
Even in confusion.
God is faithful.
God is intentional.
God is sovereign.
And He’s working it out for my good.
I don’t know who I came for this morning, but I came for somebody who’s been praying and waiting, crying, trusting, standing and believing.
You’ve been asking,
Lord, how long?
Lord, when?
Lord, is this ever going to change?
But I can hear the Lord saying, hold on just a little while longer.
I can hear the Lord saying, it going to be alright. Because
I’m working while you were waiting.
I was moving while you were crying.
I was arranging while you were doubting.
Yes, I was…
I worked it out in the midnight hour.
I worked it out when you didn’t have nobody to call.
I worked it out when the door slammed in your face.
I worked it out when your back was against the wall.
He’s been working it out.
I worked it out in the doctor’s office.
I worked it out in the courtroom.
I worked it out in the layoff notice.
I worked it out in the lonely season.
And look at you now.
You didn’t lose your mind.
You didn’t lose your praise.
You didn’t lose your faith.
You didn’t lose your shout.
And that’s because,
When the enemy thought it was over, I was just getting started.
When hell said no way, I said watch Me.
When it looked like delay was too long. It was divine setup.
I believe that the Lord:
Worked it out behind closed doors.
Worked it out in secret places.
I believe worked it out when nobody saw it.
I believe that the Lord worked it out when nobody was clapping for me.
And I can hear the Lord saying and now, somebody say and now.
I’m about to bring you out with evidence.
I’m about to bless you in public.
I’m about to turn tears into testimony, and your process into praise.
Somebody holler.
HE WORKED IT OUT.
When I didn’t understand
HE WORKED IT OUT.
When I was ready to quit.
HE WORKED IT OUT.
When I didn’t know how.
HE WORKED IT OUT.
Look at your neighbor and tell them.
I’m still here because He worked it out!”
If you know He worked it out, please be a witness by opening your mouth, and lifting your hands, stomping your feet, and giving God the kind of praise that says:
I don’t look like what I’ve been through, because HE WORKED IT OUT.
One Friday he worked it out because, he died for you and I but early that’s your shout right there early on Sunday morning he got up about the grave and declared all powers in his hands.
