God Is For the Rest of Us at Just the Right Time
Isaiah 41 says: 17 When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue is parched with thirst, I the Lord will answer them; I the God of Israel will not forsake them. 18 I will open rivers on the bare heights, and fountains in the midst of the valleys. I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water. 19 I will put in the wilderness the cedar, the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive. I will set in the desert the cypress, the plane and the pine together, 20 that they may see and know, may consider and understand together, that the hand of the Lord has done this, the Holy One of Israel has created it.
As we conclude our series God For the Rest of Us we have talked about how God does not cast people aside, but always seeks to show His compassion in the way that we need it so that we see the gift of eternal life. Every event, every timeline, every joy, every hurt, should be an opportunity to reflect on God and how He continues to interact with His creation.
Isaiah 41, in this passage, is a promise and a proclamation. All belong to creation, and all belong to God. Those who recognize that relationship have strong standing with God, and those who reject God’s acknowledgement of His sovereignty will one day miss out on those glorious eternal blessings. Let us take the promise and proclamation of Isaiah 41 as our own.
A few thoughts on Isaiah 41.
(1) Questions are vital. God answers us.
Can God answer a question we don’t ask? Sorry, bad way to start, with a philosophical question I can’t answer. But, let us say this: ask and listen for God’s response. If you ask, God is sure to answer. I always wonder why we think that God’s answer has to be yes, no, maybe, or wait for a bit. If we can ask rhetorical questions we expect God to answer, might He not ask a rhetorical question, as His prophets do in the Bible to stir our thinking? Might He not be a Jeopardy fan and phrase His answer in the form of a question? Our expectations of God’s responses might be a little shallow. What might God be trying to accomplish in you with the questions you ask? He does answer, but we must always watch the expectations of what that answer is going to look like or should look like.
(2) Struggle opens our eyes to the need for relief. God rescues us.
When, at that last moment, there seems like there is no hope, God grants us rescue. When we cry out for relief, God gives the water of life that reminds us of the need for Him and what only He can give. When we depend on this world to answer our prayers and give us things, it may work. But, when it doesn’t, that’s where we get angry and confuse our relationship with this world and our relationship with our Heavenly Father. We confuse our blessings with our desires, and that gives us the wrong insight into what it means to trust in God. That is where God can rescue us when we find ourselves in need.
(3) Every space and every moment have purpose. God has created all things.
The things we take for granted around us, like the trees of the forest, the lakes that sit 6,000 ft. above sea level, nestled in the mountains, the random oasis in the desert that we’ll probably never see, the different types of trees that seem to serve no purpose except to have a difference of shape in their leaves, the mountains we’ll never climb, the valleys we’ll never explore, … we take them for granted. But just as God has created them for a purpose long beyond what we can comprehend or fathom, so God has created you and all of the other redeemable humans that we share this life with. But let us give thanks that the Lord has seen them worthy enough to occupy space and time for a while, accomplishing things that we may never know, but have meaning and grace in them in the same way the mountain, valley, acacia, cedar, and wilderness pool of water do. Let us consider and understand (read, meditate on and give thanks) for the things that we will never experience.
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All things are ordered so as to point to God at just the right time. Think about that the next time you drive by everything. Amen.
Very nice. I have never thought about God’s answer to prayer in the way you put it but now I will. I also have heard many people try to rely on people too much and not God and when they do get really mad is when they turn to God. I will also think about all that God has created for a purpose and never experience as I am sure there is a lot. Again I am going to miss this series and study.
Vicki, glad you enjoyed the sermon series. Stay tuned for our November sermon series: Duover. Glad the article got you thinking.