Trevor S Ferguson
May 23, 2021
Isaiah 43:1-7, 18-25
[1] But now thus saith
the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear
not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.
[2] When thou passest
through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not
overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned;
neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.
[3] For I am the LORD thy
God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia
and Seba for thee.
[4] Since thou wast
precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee:
therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life.
[5] Fear not: for I am
with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west;
[6] I will say to the
north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my
daughters from the ends of the earth;
[7] Even every one that
is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him;
yea, I have made him.
[18] Remember ye not the former things, neither
consider the things of old.
[19] Behold, I will do a new thing; now it
shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the
wilderness, and rivers in the desert.
[20] The beast of the field shall honour me,
the dragons and the owls: because I give waters in the wilderness, and rivers
in the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen.
[21] This people have I formed for myself; they
shall shew forth my praise.
[22] But thou hast not called upon me, O Jacob;
but thou hast been weary of me, O Israel.
[23] Thou hast not brought me the small cattle
of thy burnt offerings; neither hast thou honoured me with thy sacrifices. I
have not caused thee to serve with an offering, nor wearied thee with incense.
[24] Thou hast bought me no sweet cane with
money, neither hast thou filled me with the fat of thy sacrifices: but thou
hast made me to serve with thy sins, thou hast wearied me with thine
iniquities.
[25] I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy
transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.
INTRODUCTION
All of us as human beings have experienced seasons when life and circumstances seem to be extremely difficult. For some, these are short periods of time, interrupting an otherwise pleasant life, but for others, these difficult seasons seem to be prolonged and unending. We understand and accept that life is cyclical and has both good and bad seasons as we recall that Ecclesiastes 3:1 tells us “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven”. The writer of Ecclesiastes goes on to emphasize in verses 2-4 “A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.” We see also in Job 14:1-2 “Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble. He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not.” We must therefore accept that troubles, problems, difficult seasons, and such circumstances are regular occurrences in human life and therefore we must find ways to survive and overcome in these seasons.
Difficult seasons may come in many forms. On the temporal side, these include severe sickness, the death of a loved one, financial problems, interpersonal conflicts, emotional upheavals, and various other similar situations. Difficult seasons also occur in our spiritual lives. These include church related conflicts, prolonged seasons of silence (when it seems like we just can’t hear from God), unanswered prayers, unfruitful ministries, persecution, spiritual burnout, and other varied situations. Many of us face these difficult seasons feeling distressed, alone, and frustrated. Human help often fails and at times are filled with platitudes that do not address our real problems. The usual responses will come - pray more, fast more, have faith – but for many, we have already prayed, we have already fasted, we have mustered up all the faith we can find. What then does one do?
The prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 43 offers us some words of encouragement regarding how we approach these difficult situations. It is not quite the quick deliverance that some of us seek, but more an assurance of God’s abiding presence in these difficult seasons. Yes, He is our Jehovah Shammah. He is with us - a very present help in times of trouble. Today we want to take a closer look at this passage, as we seek to better understand how to endure and overcome in our difficult seasons.
EXPOSITION
Isaiah is considered by most biblical scholars as the foremost of the major prophets and is sometimes called the prince of prophets. His ministry is believed to span over 60 years, during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. Isaiah 43 belongs to a group of prophesies where Isaiah offers words of comfort and assurance to the people of Israel. It is generally accepted that these prophecies speak futuristically to Israel’s captivity in Babylon but revealed by God to Isaiah almost 200 years before their actual occurrence. Given this context of a prolonged season of difficulty, this passage is particularly applicable to the topic we are addressing today.
The passage begins with a reaffirmation of God’s paternal relationship with Israel. God declared that He was the one that created and formed Israel, He had redeemed them, and they are His. Today, we acknowledge God as our creator and our redeemer. We are His. If He was willing to lay down his life for us and purchase our salvation with his own blood, there is nothing good that He will not do for us. Romans 8:32 reminds us: “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” Given that we belong to God, and he will freely give us all things, we can face our difficult seasons, knowing that we have a God who cares about us and will work out all things for our good.
Verse 2 of Isaiah 43, can be considered the focus text for today’s message: “When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.” Let us look at some lessons from this verse.
Firstly, I want us to consider the phrases “When thou passest through the waters …” and “when thou walkest through the fire …” We note the prophet says “when” and not “if”. This implies that we will pass through the waters, we will walk through the fire! So, the first point of emphasis today is that: Difficult seasons are part of human and Christian existence; therefore, we should expect it and prepare for it.
Some of us have been schooled to believe that as Christians we are covered and protected by God and therefore, we will not experience difficulties in life. However, it is critical that we become mature as Christians and accept that trials and difficulties are part of the journey. We cannot be naïve, or we will be easy prey for the devil. We must develop strategies to cope with these difficulties rather than hide our heads in the sand and pray or hope that they will not occur. Peter warns us that we must be sober and vigilant because we have an adversary, the devil, who is roaming about seeking whom he may devour (1st Peter 5:8). So then, the first strategy in dealing with and overcoming our difficulty seasons is to expect it and prepare for it.
Let us use a simple illustration. If we are planning to visit a cold country in the winter, we buy warm clothes. Similarly, since we know that we will come under spiritual attacks from the enemy, we must build our spiritual armour.
The second key phrase in these verses is “I will be with thee”! God did not promise that he will help us avoid the water and the fire, but He promised that he will be with us! He will come in the water with us. He will come in the fire with us. The waters shall not overflow us. We will not drown. We will still be able to stand in the water. The fire will not burn us or consume us. We see this exemplified with the three Hebrews boys, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in Daniel 3. Nebuchadnezzar expected that once thrown in the fire the Hebrew boys would be burned to ashes, but God took the heat out of the fire and was there walking with them in the fire! Similarly, when Daniel was cast in the lion’s den, God shut the mouth of the lions and Daniel was able to rest comfortably in the lion’s den. God can take the venom out of your difficult situation and give you the power to survive and thrive. So, the second point of emphasis today is that God stands with His people on difficult seasons - He will never leave us or abandon us!
Moses reminded the Israelites in Deuteronomy 31:6: “Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.” Psalm 46:1-3 is equally emphatic: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof.” The psalm closes with the instruction: Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. We can rest assured that regardless of how difficult or dark or situation appears to be, God is there with us and he will give us the strength to overcome.
The third point of emphasis today is that God is able to transform difficult seasons into seasons of joy, peace and plenty. Verse 19 of our text say: “Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.” So, while we recognize that we will have wilderness experiences, and that, of necessity, we will walk through some deserts, God wants to reassure us that these need not be just painful, unpleasant experiences. He can transform our situations. He will make a way in the wilderness; He will prepare rivers in our desert. Note again, the use of the word ‘in’. The way is made in the wilderness! The river is created in the desert. So let us not be hasty in our expectation of deliverance. Deliverance will come, but we must spend some time in the wilderness; we must spend some time in the desert.
The wilderness and desert experiences are sometimes used by God to prepare us for the work to be accomplished. Moses spent 40 years in the wilderness, tending Jethro’s flock, possibly because he needed to spend 40 years in the wilderness leading Israel to the promised land!
But God will not leave us by ourselves in these situations. When Israel passed through the wilderness, God fed them with manna and brought water out of the rocks. He will step into our situations and make a way, even when there seems to be no way!
The fourth point of emphasis is that God expects us to continue to worship in our difficult seasons. Let us look at verse 22-24:
“But thou hast not called upon me, O Jacob; but thou hast been weary of me, O Israel. Thou hast not brought me the small cattle of thy burnt offerings; neither hast thou honoured me with thy sacrifices. I have not caused thee to serve with an offering, nor wearied thee with incense. Thou hast bought me no sweet cane with money, neither hast thou filled me with the fat of thy sacrifices: but thou hast made me to serve with thy sins, thou hast wearied me with thine iniquities.”
Many of us fail to continue in our worship and adoration to God in the difficult seasons. Instead, we grumble and complain. Just as Israel did. However, 1st Corinthians 10 reminds us that God was not pleased with Israel’s attitude in the wilderness, and this resulted in many of them being overthrown in the wilderness. Let us say like David in Psalm 34:1 “I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.” God is always worthy to be praised. Note also that Job’s first act after he heard of the calamity that had befallen his children was to bow his head and worship! Let us therefore learn to praise God even in our difficult situations. This will cause God to open doors and make ways for us. He will sustain us in the wilderness and eventually we will come into God’s promised land, filled with abundance and all God’s blessings. Israel eventually made it to Canaan. Judah was eventually delivered from Babylonian captivity; God eventually answered Job. We too will eventually make it out of our difficult seasons. The night is long but is eventually followed by daybreak. Winter in long, but eventually spring and summer comes. Your difficult season will not last forever. God is with you and will bring you out! You can trust Him; you can trust His word. Trouble won’t last always. What do you do? Praise God during your difficult season. He will give you strength, he will sustain you. He will make a way!
CONCLUSION
So then, we have seen today that God promised to be with us when we walk through the waters and when we walk through the fires of this life. He also promised that He will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. However, He expects that we continue to worship even in difficult seasons. Let us commit to trusting God in our difficult seasons. He has promised to be with us and will eventually lead us out. His words are true. Let us continue to trust Him. God bless you, In Jesus Name.
