Keep Your Hope Up!

Shattered Dreams: Sermons from the Book of Ruth

Dr. Patrick Mead

Series: Ruth

Shattered Dreams: Dead End or Doorway?

Ruth 1:1-5; Judges 21:25; Jeremiah 29:11

Go ahead and take your copy of God's Word and turn to the first chapter of the book of Ruth. We're looking at the first five verses this morning. I have the wonderful privilege of every once in a while going to play golf. Coach Marvel takes me to play golf, and every once in a while, we play with a guy by the name of Ed Alvarez.

So one day we're playing golf, and Ed is my partner. I told Ed that I prayed for my golf game. He kind of laughed because he thought I was kidding. I wasn't kidding. I pray for my golf game. I need it. He went on to say, "I don't pray for my golf game…" Of course, that's easy for him to say. He can play. He said, "…because God has bigger things to deal with than my golf game."

Now I would agree with that. In the grand scheme of things, my golf game really isn't that important. It's important to me and probably to the person who is on my team, but really in the grand scheme of things, it's not that important. However, I would disagree with the thought that God doesn't really care about the insignificant things in our lives.

I believe in the providence of God: that is, God is absolutely actively involved in every aspect of our lives. God didn't just create us and leave us on our own. No, God created us, and he is intimately involved with the details of our lives. Now even though my golf game, when it comes to God's unfolding purposes… I doubt it's connected with that. I find great comfort in knowing that God does care for the insignificant things. He does care for those things we would consider unimportant. God wants to be involved in our lives. He does.

What we need to do, what we need to understand is the theological term where we're talking about God's activity in our daily lives… We call that providence. That's the theological term. The providence of God. Understanding the providence of God is crucial when it comes to living a life in a culture that is constantly challenging our faith.

That is true about the book of Ruth, and it's true today. There's great comfort in knowing and great security in knowing this one truth: God is in control. Our God is an eternal God, but he is also a personal God. That means he is involved with the details of our lives. Some people have a hard time with this. Some people have a hard time with this whole concept that God is actively involved with the small, minute details of our lives.

When Jesus taught us how to pray… We call it the Lord's Prayer. It's really not the Lord's Prayer. Jesus never had to ask for forgiveness. It's really the disciples' prayer. When he was teaching us how to pray, do you remember what he said? He said to pray, "Give us this day our daily bread." Why would he ask us to do that? Because he is intimately involved in every detail of our lives. God is active in our lives.

So as we come to the book of Ruth, we're starting a series I call Everyday God, God's activity in everyday life. For the next seven weeks, we'll be gleaning some wonderful, wonderful truth from this small, four-chapter book, but a very, very important book. Very important. Even though this was written 1,200 years before Christ, let me kind of give you a background to what Ruth was encountering.

Listen to what it says in verse 1: "In the days when the judges ruled…" So that sets the background for us. That tells us this is happening during the time of judges. It's happening during the time of judges. Really that was a time in the history of Israel, one of the many times, where they were disobedient to God.

In fact, the book of Judges says over and over again that the people of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and they served the Baals. The last verse of the last chapter of the book of Judges sums it up very well. The writer of Judges says, "In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his eyes." Everyone was doing evil. So the situation that's taking place some 1200 BC is one of faithlessness.

So the book of Ruth is really refreshing in the fact that Ruth's faith is in stark contrast to the unfaithfulness of the people of Israel. So it's in this climate of apostasy, unfaithfulness, that this beautiful story, the story of Ruth, unfolds. It's a story of faith. It's a story of loyalty. It's a story of love. It's a story of redemption. It's also a story of God's activity in everyday life, God's providence in everyday life.

As I was saying, even though this happened 3,200 years apart from us, the events of Ruth are still taking place today. God is actively involved in our lives. It is my prayer that as we continue this study over the next seven weeks, we begin to see God's activity in our lives more and more. It's my prayer over the next seven weeks that we begin to see everything is connected to God's purpose.

That means everything that happens in our lives is connected to God's purpose. Everything that happens in history is connected to God's purpose. That means our life has purpose. Our life has meaning. Our life has value. "Everyday God" means God is with us always, and he cares for us. He rules over us. He provides for us. So we begin the story today, and the story begins with tragedy. In fact, you could say that the first five verses are all about shattered dreams. A great question is…Are these shattered dreams a dead end, or are they a doorway?

Well, we learn in the first five verses, first of all, that discomfort can lead to distrust. Again, verse 1 really sets the background for our narrative. For it tells us, "In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land, and a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons."

So the discomfort they were experiencing during this time was famine. The severity of the famine is revealed in the fact that even Bethlehem, which means house of bread, or house of grainery, the abundant source of grain, was experiencing famine in the land. The land of Israel was experiencing famine.

Now the author doesn't tell us why. He doesn't tell us this famine was either a tool of discipline from the Lord or if it was just something that happens by living in a sinful world. It doesn't say. I think the author left it open for a reason because the experiences that are happening here could apply to any family at any time.

Now I would suggest to you that one of the reasons they're facing famine in the land at this point is because of the disobedience and the unfaithfulness of the people of Israel. We have to remember the author doesn't tell us, but he gives us the opportunity to speculate on it. I think we can accurately speculate, if we put it into context, that this famine is a direct result of the unfaithfulness of God's people.

The very fact that it was happening during the time of judges… It was a time when God's people were constantly turning their backs on the Lord. They were breaking the covenant of the Lord. They were turning their backs on God and turning to the false gods. The Lord warned his people in Leviticus and Deuteronomy, "If you turn your back on me, if you turn to false gods, I will bring enmity into the land. I will destroy the crops. I will withhold the seasonal rains." That's what famine is. Famine comes about because God brings about a drought.

So they're having a drought. That's why I believe what they're experiencing here, as the people of Israel, was the direct result of God's discipline. They were unfaithful to God, and now he was disciplining them. Now again, the author doesn't tell us this. He lets us read into it. He leaves it wide open. I believe he does so so we can apply it to any situation.

This man and this family could be any family. The discomfort they're going through could be any discomfort we experience this side of heaven, whether it be for the purpose of correction, like this one, or for the purpose of perfection. When you find yourself in those circumstances where you are experiencing discomfort, the choices we make as believers are very, very important.

This man had to make a choice. We don't have his name yet. We don't even know the names of his family members yet, but we're told in the very first verse that this man made a decision. Based upon the discomfort of the famine, he made a decision. That decision was to leave the house of bread, Bethlehem, and to go to the country of Moab.

Now I believe he purposed to go there at first for a very short time: the very fact that he says his family went there to sojourn. Can you really blame this man? Think about it. Can you really blame him? The logical choice is, "Hey, what's best for your family?" When he made this decision, the situation is basically to go where the grass is greener. So can we really blame him for this decision?

If you think about the situation in Israel, there was a lot of political unrest. They didn't have a king. They didn't have a king at all. They had judges time and time again, and these judges would be lifted up and delivered. So there was this political unrest. There was instability. Of course, there was the economy. It was terrible.

So this man made a decision to leave Bethlehem, and he's in good company. If you look to the Scriptures, you find Abraham. He left the Promised Land. He went to Egypt. Isaac went to Philistia. Jacob, of course, went to Egypt with the whole family. That's when Joseph was there. So from looking at it, from a human perspective, it looks like he made a good decision. Or did he?

Let's look at verse 2. Let's meet this man. It says, "The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there." I want to suggest to you that this man did not make a good decision. In fact, I want to show you from the text that this man made the decision because of his inability to trust the Lord. He took things in his own hands.

First, the names of the people. Remember in the Old Testament, names are very, very important and the meaning of those names. The first name, of course, the man's name is Elimelech, which means my God is king. That name really reveals the faith of his parents. His parents saw that baby boy and said, "My God is King." That was a demonstration of their faith.

Then there is Naomi. Her name means pleasant. Then there are the two sons. Mahlon… Do you know what it means? Sickly. Have you ever heard anybody name their child puny? "Hey, come here, puny." That's basically what Mahlon means. He is puny. Then there, of course, is Chilion, which means, really, to come to an end. It has this idea that it's death.

What's interesting is Elimelech did not use this opportunity to demonstrate his faith like his parents did. Why? Because his faith had faltered. He was no longer focused on the Lord. All he could do is look at his circumstances, and they were bad. There was a famine in the land. So really the names of his children reveal this man had lost his focus of God. He saw his circumstances, and so he names his kids after the circumstances. Sickly, puny, and death. I believe that is evidence of a man who has stopped trusting in God. He has lost his focus.

Secondly, they were Ephrathites. Scholars believe this was royalty. They had money. So they're in a famine. You know the old saying: If you don't have anything, you don't have anything to lose. Well, they had something. They had something to lose. I believe the circumstances caused him to go to the country of Moab to take things into his own hands. Discomfort can lead to distrust.

Thirdly, Yahweh does not appear in these verses. In all the book of Ruth, there are actually six scenes. You will find the name of the Lord, Yahweh, in every scene except one: the first five verses. This means he didn't consult God about this decision.

Plus, there's also a syntactical link between these two verses and the story of Abraham going to Egypt, Genesis, chapter 12, verse 10. There is a syntactical link here. In Genesis 12, Abraham, instead of trusting God in the Promised Land, took things into his own hands. He went to Egypt. Elimelech, instead of trusting God in the house of bread, at Bethlehem, took things into his own hands. He went to the country of Moab. Discomfort can lead to distrust.

Here's what Matthew Henry said about this passage. "It is an evidence of a discontented, distrustful, unstable spirit, to be weary of the place in which God has set us, and to be leaving it immediately whenever we meet with any uneasiness or inconvenience in it." Discomfort can lead to distrust. When that happens, distrust will lead to devastation.

It's very, very easy to justify disobedience in our hearts and even call it the will of God. I really believe Elimelech was thinking, "I think I'll help God out in this famine. I think I'll help him out. I think I'll go to the country of Moab. I hear it's doing well." It's not that far away, by the way, in terms of getting a vehicle and going. Of course, they didn't have a vehicle. It's only 50-60 miles away. It was okay there.

Here's how it starts. Disobedience and distrust happen gradually. Again, I believe Elimelech had all the plans. He was probably thinking, "Hey, I'll go there just for a short while, and then I'll come back." I believe that is what is suggested in verse 1. When it says they went to sojourn in the country of Moab, that word sojourn means to go somewhere temporarily. That was his original plan, but he left that original plan. We're told in the very last part of verse 2, "They went into the country of Moab and remained there."

Distrust, when you take things into your own hands, will lead to devastation. I want you to see the immediate consequences and then the long-term consequences that came about because of Elimelech's decision to take things into his own hands and not trust the Lord. Look at verse 3. There is an immediate consequence. It says, "But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons."

He left the house of bread because he thought, probably, "If I don't leave, we're going to die." So he takes things into his own hands, only to find out that he actually ran to the very thing he was running from: death. In his pursuit of a better life he made things worse for him and his family. Why? How did that happen? He let his discomfort lead him to distrust, and he stopped trusting in God. He took things into his own hands.

Now look at the long-term consequences. So his wife is left with the two sons. It says in verse 4, "These [Mahlon and Chilion] took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. They lived there about 10 years." Now instead of going back to Bethlehem after Dad died, Naomi and the two sons (and probably under the influence of the two sons, because they were the ones who were going to take care of Naomi), decided, "Hey, we're going to stay here."

They stayed there another 10 years, probably because they were more comfortable with the pagan culture of Moab than they were of Israel. I think the very fact that they're marrying Moabite wives shows their condition. Here's what happened. These two boys grew up. Puny and Death grew up. The very names reveal their daddy wasn't trusting in God. So they grew up watching their dad not trust in the Lord, and guess what happened? They followed in Elimelech's footsteps. They followed in Daddy's footsteps.

Oh, it gets worse, because it says in verse 4, "They lived there about ten years…" Then we come to verse 5: "…and both Mahlon and Chilion died, so that the woman [Naomi] was left without her two sons and her husband." Do you know what we call verse 5? Shattered dreams. She had nothing. She lost her husband. She lost her two sons. All she had left were her two daughters-in-law, and guess what? They didn't have much to offer her.

So her dreams are shattered. No husband. No children. No hopes of grandchildren now. She was just hoping she could have her basic needs met on a daily basis. I imagine here's Naomi going, "Oh my goodness. My dreams are shattered. I'm at a dead end in life. There's no way out. There's no way out."

Here's the good news. There is. I want you to think about a couple of things here before we move on, about this whole idea that distrust will lead to devastation. How many times have we made decisions based upon common sense or logical standard without consulting the Lord or his Word? I think we need to be very careful to examine ourselves, myself included. How many times have we acted like Elimelech? We profess to be Christians, but do we really walk by faith?

Those of us who are husbands and fathers, are we leading our families down the road of faith or a pathway of tragedy and devastation and destruction? Do our families, do our wives and children, see us living a life of faith every day? Do they see within us an abiding trust in Christ Jesus, and that trust is what guides every aspect of our lives?

When problems come our way and we start experiencing discomfort, husbands, dads, do we let them push us toward God or away from God? All of us have experienced the pain and consequences of distrust, and not only our own distrust. Elimelech's affected his whole family. Sometimes we're affected by somebody else's. Distrust leads to devastation.

Here's what I like about the book of Ruth, though. The book of Ruth is a great reminder to the child of God that God really does work all things together for the good of those who love him and are called by him. The story of Ruth is about… What we need to understand is even though there are regrets in our lives and even though we may have made mistakes, we have this wonderful assurance as God's children's that all things work together for good. God can even use our foolishness, and yes, God can use our mistakes for his glory. That's what the story of Ruth is about. God intervened.

So with God, and in God's economy, shattered dreams don't have to be a dead-end. In fact, in God's economy, devastation can actually become a doorway for God to do great things. Devastation can become a doorway for God to do great things. Let me give you a couple of truths really quickly. Here's what we can learn from Elimelech. This is something God gave me just in my own personal life.

Stop running from the famine, and start trusting God in the famine. Otherwise, you will always be in the famine. Realize God is good to those who wait. When we don't wait and when we take things into our own hands and we experience devastation, the Bible is all about God taking devastation and turning it into a doorway of opportunity.

Genesis, chapter 3, is a devastating time in the history of humanity because we fell, but it became a doorway for God to do some great things, right? Mainly send his Son to redeem us from our sins. That's what the Bible is about. It's about God taking devastation, taking shattered dreams and using those shattered dreams to become a doorway of opportunity for God to do great things.

One of my favorite verses is Jeremiah 29:11. I'm sure many of you have memorized that. "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans for welfare, not for calamity, not for evil, to give you a hope, to give you a future.'" Now we all love that verse, but before that verse, you have verse 10.

In fact, you have to put that verse in the context of the book of Jeremiah. God says, "For I know the plans I have for you…" but before that, he says in verse 10 (and I want to read that to you), "For thus says the LORD: 'When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place.'" The 70 years of exile came about because of devastation. They turned their backs on God.

In God's economy, devastation doesn't have to be a dead-end. Some of you have made mistakes. You're thinking, "Man, God can't use me then. I'm at a dead end. There's no way out." Devastation can become a doorway for God to do great things. If you're here this morning and your marriage didn't turn out the way you thought it would be, your family didn't turn out the way you thought it would be, your dreams are shattered, do you know what God says to you? "For I know the plans I have for you…"

Your financial portfolio isn't what you thought it would be at this time. Now you're looking to the future, and that future you planned for is not going to happen. Your financial dreams are now shattered. Do you know what God says to you? "For I know the plans I have for you…" Some of you are here this morning, and you've made decisions in the past. You have regrets. You are wondering, "Am I at a dead end? Is there any way out?" Here's what God says to you: "For I know the plans I have for you…"

Devastation doesn't have to be a dead-end if you belong to God; devastation can be a doorway for God to do some great things in your life. Shattered dreams… If you belong to God, trust in him, because God can take those shattered dreams and use them as a doorway to do great things in your life. Shattered dreams? Trust in Christ. Return to him. God will take care of you.

If you're here this morning and you've never trusted Christ as your Lord and Savior, that's the most important decision you can make in life. That decision is to place your faith in Jesus Christ, to understand that you're a sinner in need of a Savior and that Jesus Christ died for our sins, was buried, and on the third day he rose to life. The Bible says if we'll confess with our mouth that Jesus was Lord and believe in our hearts God raised him from the dead, we can be saved. You can be saved this morning. God wants to save you this morning.

If you're here today and you're not a part of a church family, I believe if you have a family, you have a mini-church, and that mini-church needs to be part of a local church. If you sense God calling you to this church today, I'm going to ask you to get up and come up here and say, "We want to be a part of this church family. We want to serve the Lord here."

If today you're here and your dreams are shattered and you're broken, you're in a very good place for God to do some great things. If you need prayer today, I want to pray with you. We'll have pastors in the back, pastors upfront. We'll pray with you. If you're not comfortable with coming up during the invitation, you can come out to the reception area. I'd love to talk with you there as well. Let's pray.

Father, we thank you for your Word today. We thank you that with you, shattered dreams are not a dead-end but a doorway for you to do great things in our lives if we'll just humble ourselves this morning.

God, we just pray for that person who doesn't know Christ here this morning, for that man or woman who is sitting here today who has shattered dreams and they think they're in a dead-end. Lord, give them hope today. Remind them that you have a plan for their life, that you want to give them purpose and meaning and value in Christ Jesus. We thank you for this Word. We give you all the glory. Have your way during this time of invitation. In Jesus' name, amen.

Surviving a Standstill Season

Isaiah 43:14-21

As a child, I remember Christmas taking forever to arrive.  The days between Christmas seemed to drag on and even seemed to be at a standstill.  Ironically, now that I’m much older Christmas comes way too fast, in fact, everything is going way too fast.  Time seems to speed up the older you get. Though time continues to move forward, life can seem to be at a standstill. 

How many of you have ever been in standstill traffic? I have on several occasions. The most recent, I spent two hours in standstill traffic on my way to work.  It was so frustrating, especially when there was nowhere to go. I had already passed an exit and the next one was five miles away. It didn’t help the situation that I needed a restroom.  I had no idea what happened, nor could I see if any progress was being made. And just like traffic, life can come to what appears to be a standstill season.  

When you are in a standstill season it’s usually during a period of transition.  You feel like you are stuck, and you don’t know what to do. You can’t see what God is doing, and you struggle with taking things into your own hands.  

The Bible is full of examples of God’s people being in a standstill season.  The Israelites in Egypt were in a standstill season for hundreds of years. Again, in the wilderness, the Israelites were in a forty-year standstill season.  During the Intertestamental period, the time between the Old Testament and the New Testament, also known as the “Silent Years.” the people of God were at a standstill.  And that was the case for the Israelites during the Babylonian exile.  

For seventy years the people of God were at a standstill wondering and waiting for God to fulfill his promise of rebuilding and repopulating Jerusalem.  Anticipating their standstill season God, through the prophet of promise, Isaiah, gave them truths for surviving standstill seasons. A few of those truths are found in the forty-third chapter of Isaiah: “' Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: "For your sake, I send to Babylon and bring them all down as fugitives, even the Chaldeans, in the ships in which they rejoice. I am the Lord, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King." Thus says the Lord, who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters, who brings forth chariot and horse, army and warrior; they lie down, they cannot rise, they are extinguished, quenched like a wick: "Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. The wild beasts will honor me, the jackals and the ostriches, for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people, the people whom I formed for myself that they might declare my praise” (Isaiah 43:14-21).

How do you survive a standstill season? First, you need to recognize that God gives promises to stabilize his people.  

God gives us promises to stabilize (14-15)

Verses fourteen and fifteen reveal the promise God gives Israel: “Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: "For your sake, I send to Babylon and bring them all down as fugitives, even the Chaldeans, in the ships in which they rejoice. I am the Lord, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King” (Isaiah 43:14-15).

The Lord has promised Israel destruction by the Babylonians and deportation to Babylon for the first thirty-nine chapters of Isaiah. However, God is always faithful to his people, never leaving them, nor abandoning them.  Isaiah reminds them of God’s commitment to his people with the names that he uses for God: “Redeemer, Holy One, Creator, King.” What God is going to do for Israel is not based upon who they are, but whose they are. They belong to God, and God is their Redeemer. 

The Lord assures Israel of his love and commitment before Babylonian destruction and deportation ever happens: “For your sake, I send to Babylon and bring them all down as fugitives, even the Chaldeans, in the ships in which they rejoice.” The verb “send” is a perfect tense verb. Scholars refer to this particular tense as a prophetic perfect.  Even though the events that would bring about this promise have not happened, God intends to redeem them from this bondage.  God would use the Persian King Cyrus to overthrow the Babylonians and bring the people of Israel back from captivity and rebuild the temple and Jerusalem.   When God gives a promise it’s a done deal.  

God gives promises to stabilize us during tough seasons.  What I love about this particular promise is that it communicates to the Israelites that their failure and disobedience that brought about the destruction and deportation is not permanent.  Why? Because God is Redeemer, and he can and does redeem our seasons for his glory, and that’s a promise. Next, the text reveals that God gives a process to recognize.  

God gives a process to recognize  (16-17)

Verses sixteen and seventeen give a lengthy introduction to what the Lord is going to command the people of God in verse eighteen: “Thus says the Lord, who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters, who brings forth chariot and horse, army and warrior; they lie down, they cannot rise, they are extinguished, quenched like a wick.” These verses become the context of what God commands in verse eighteen and what follows.  

It doesn’t take a Bible scholar to recognize what the reference is in these two verses.  Isaiah is looking back to a past event in the life of God’s people. The Exodus is when God delivered his people from the bondage of Egypt and eventually brought them into the Promise Land.  The fact that the Lord uses present tense verbs and not past tense verbs is significant. God wants the Israelites to do more than just reflect upon the events of the past. More importantly, God wants them to recognize what God demonstrated during that event. 

When God delivered the Israelites from Egypt he invaded and intervened in their dire situation, and demonstrated his love, power, and his faithfulness to his promises and his people.  In other words, the same God who did powerfully delivered and redeemed the Israelites during the Exodus is the same God who will do the same for the Israelites during captivity. This process and pattern we see in the Exodus and captivity was also the process we see in the cross of Christ.  God is all about redeeming, delivering and setting people free. We need to recognize this process and pattern, especially when we are in a standstill season. Once the process and pattern are recognized, God then gives a perception to utilize.  

God gives a perception to utilize (18-20)

Perception is everything. In fact, perception becomes reality.  What we see and visualize becomes our reality; therefore, God wants his people to be very careful about how they perceive life and circumstances.  First, he addresses how we perceive the past.  

After bringing to remembrance the Exodus event in verses sixteen and seventeen, God commands his people to forget: “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old.” This seems like a contradiction. Does he really want God’s people to forget about the past events of God’s faithfulness? Not at all.  What the Lord wants from his people is not to focus on the events of the past that they fail to perceive and recognize what God is doing in the present and in the future.  The use of the present tense in verses sixteen and seventeen supports this truth.  

Instead of taking Israel back to the past event of the Exodus, Isaiah brings it and what God did into the present. It’s possible to turn past events into idols; therefore, instead of placing our faith in the event of the past, we must place our faith in the present God who continues to do the same things he did in the past today.   Don’t focus on past events, but on what God demonstrated during those events. If we focus on the past we will miss out on what God is doing now and in the future.  

Isaiah turns our attention to the now and not yet in verse nineteen: “Behold, I’m doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?” I love the fact that Isaiah can perceive and recognize what God is doing and going to do. He can see it because of faith in the God who promises in verses fourteen and fifteen to do deliver them from bondage and captivity.  

We forget the past events, but not what God demonstrated in the past. If we expect God to do the same thing he did for us in the past, we will miss and fail to recognize what God is doing in the present and future.  

What was God going to do for the Israelites when he delivered them from Babylonian captivity? Verses nineteen and twenty show us: “Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. The wild beasts will honor me, the jackals and the ostriches, for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people.”  

The new thing that God was going to do for Israel would not be without its challenges.  They were over 500 miles away from Jerusalem. This would mean a long journey through the desert in unknown territory. As a result, they would experience obstacles, hardships, dangers, and exhaustion.  Even so, the God of the Old Exodus is the same God of the new exodus. He would not split the sea, but he would provide for them and protect them along the way.  

When the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary to announce the birth of Jesus, she would soon find out that God’s new thing can sometimes be difficult. It may lead us to set aside our own plans and dreams. It may mean risks. It may be frightening.  Even so, God promises to be with us, to intervene in our circumstances, to protect and provide for us along the way.  

We don’t have to live in old mercies because the mercies of God are new every morning. Don’t let the good old days of the past keep you from the great days of today.  Stand on the promises of God and utilize those promises to give you the perception you need to see the new thing God is doing in your life. The new thing God is doing is for a reason. In verse twenty-one, we see the reason and purpose of God’s new thing: “Than they might declare my praise.” In verse ten of this same chapter, he declares: “You are my witnesses.”  Because of God’s promises we can be assured that he is always at work, doing new thing after new thing so that we can declare his praise and witness of his goodness to a lost and dying world, who desperately needs God’s deliverance.   

The new thing that Isaiah is referring to goes beyond the Babylonian captivity.  It points to when God intervened in history and invaded the mess of humanity by sending his Son Jesus.  The ultimate thing God has done is through his son, Jesus. Notice verse twenty-five of chapter forty-three: “I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.” In chapter forty-four, verse three: “For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring and my blessings upon your descendants.”  This is the good news of the gospel, and this is good news for you.  

The Redeemer wants to redeem you.  He wants to invade your messiness and intervene in your situation. Some are in bondage to sin and you need to be delivered. You need to be set free from the penalty and power of sin.  You have hope. All you have to do is turn to Jesus, and trust in his death burial and resurrection and you will be saved. God will redeem you and set you free. Will you trust him?

Some are in a very messy and painful situation. Some of the mess is your own doing, and some out of your control. You have hope.  God is present in the place of your pain. He is ready to redeem the negative outcome into something positive. It’s not over until God speaks, and he is speaking over you know: “Behold, I’m doing a new thing” 

Some are in a standstill season.  The new thing that God is doing in you seems to be a detour.  This standstill season is really a season of transition into a new direction. God is leading you on a journey through regions of your life and faith you would have never considered without the season you are in at this time. You are in this season so that you can see the heart of God.   

If any of this word is resonating with you then I invite you to respond. Open your hands to heaven and ask the Lord to do something new in your life, in your circumstances, or in your journey. Ask him for a fresh encounter with his presence and begin to live with hope and expectancy concerning the new thing he is about to do.    

Hang on, Change is Coming!

Hang on, Change is Coming 

Isaiah 41:1-20

Do you ever turn on the news and say to yourself, “We are in trouble!”? Or maybe you spend some time on social media, such as Twitter, and come to the same conclusion? With all the ways to stay connected to what’s happening in the world, it’s causing many fears and anxieties.

Chapman University in Orange, California for the past few years has done a yearly survey on what Americans fear the most. What is interesting is that Dr. Christopher Bader, professor of sociology at Chapman, and the one who oversees the survey has seen a trend in the survey since they started it. It’s not surprising that what they have noticed is that people tend to fear what they are exposed to in the media. Many of the top fears of one year were the top stories of the previous years.

The number one fear since 2016 has not changed: over seventy percent of people surveyed feared government corruption. I’m not an expert, but our government is corrupt on so many levels. In 2016 terrorist attacks and terrorism were both in the top ten fears. However, in the 2018 survey neither make the top ten. Instead, they have been replaced by pollution and global warming.

A combination of corrupt government, climate change, financial insecurity, escalating international tensions, and even the lack of social interaction is causing a fear and anxiety time bomb across our nation, even globally. As a result, it has created what experts are calling an “anxiety economy.” Fears and anxieties are spilling into and saturating our culture. This leaves God’s people with the challenge of responding to this “anxiety economy” in a way that represents and glorifies the Lord. Naturally, we face the challenge by turning to the scriptures.

Imagine you are living twenty-five hundred years ago in Israel, during the time of the prophet Isaiah. You don’t have CNN, Fox News, or social media to keep you updated on the times you are living in. Instead, you have a prophet named Isaiah, and what he has been prophesying is causing great fear and anxiety.

You are afraid because God is declaring judgment and deportation for his people if they don’t repent and return to him. If his people don’t repent he will cause the Babylonians to attack Israel, bringing judgment upon the people, the city of Jerusalem, and the temple, and ultimately he does exactly what he says he will do. Yet, in the promise of judgment and deportation is also the promise of return and restoration for God’s people. It’s no wonder that Isaiah is fondly referred to as the “prophet of promise.” God balances judgment and deportation with comfort and hope.

In chapter forty God gives his people the comfort of knowing that God will strengthen them so they can walk through despair. In chapter forty-one, he promises to help them walk through the fear and anxiety that will characterize the culture. Sound familiar?

In the first seven verses of chapter forty-one, the Lord is summoning the nations to what seems to be a courtroom setting. However, there is no third-party to pronounce judgment. In verse one, the Lord invites them to the courtroom, and in verses two through four he presents his case: “Who stirred up one from the east whom victory meets at every step? He gives up nations before him so that he tramples kings underfoot; he makes them like dust with his sword, like driven stubble with his bow” (Isaiah 41:2).

Verses two and three are a prophecy concerning the king of Persia, Cyrus. Though he is not named in these verses, in subsequent chapters he is named. The verb “stirred up” or “aroused” in some translations is in the perfect verb tense. In Hebrew, it is called a prophetic perfect. A prophetic perfect speaks of a prophecy that, though it is future, it’s already done. The book of Isaiah is full of prophetic perfects.

The calling of King Cyrus is significant to the unfolding plan of God’s redemption. The Lord is going to call King Nebacanezor to bring judgment, destruction, and deportation upon Israel in the first thirty-nine chapters, which God did do around 590 BC. God will use the king of Persia, Cyrus, to bring judgment upon the Babylonians, bring the exiles back to Jerusalem after seventy years of captivity, and rebuild the temple.

The point that God is making as he presents the prophecy about Cyrus is this: He is in control of history, not King Nebacanezor, not King Cyrus, but King Jehovah. The Lord drives this truth home in verse four: “Who has performed and done this, calling the generations from the beginning? I, the Lord, the first, and with the last; I am he” (Isaiah 41:4). The Great I AM is in control. He pervades and permeates all of history. He is above all history. He is above all his creation. The implication of verse four is significant: no matter how chaotic life may be or become, God is in control. Verses two through four exemplify beautifully the sovereignty of God.

The nations turn on the news and what do they hear? The prophet Isaiah is declaring the coming of Cyrus. How do they respond? Verse five reveals their reply: “The coastlands have seen and are afraid; the ends of the earth tremble; they have drawn near and come” (Isaiah 41:5). They are fearful, afraid, and trembling. They are creating an “anxiety economy.”

Unfortunately, instead of surrendering to the sovereignty of God, and trusting God, they take things into their own hands in verses six and seven: “Everyone helps his neighbor and says to his brother, "Be strong!" The craftsman strengthens the goldsmith, and he who smooths with the hammer him who strikes the anvil, saying of the soldering, "It is good"; and they strengthen it with nails so that it cannot be moved” (Isaiah 41:6-7). The blind nations have lost their sense of God, and are fearful. In their fears and anxieties, they look for new meanings and myths to sustain them. The late G. K. Chesterton said, “When people stop believing in God, they don’t believe in nothing; they believe in anything.”

Greta Thunberg, the Swedish sixteen-year-old climate activist, gave a speech at the United Nations Climate summit that illustrates the fearful response of people when belief in God is gone. In her speech to the nations, she passionately said, “You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words. And yet I’m one of the lucky ones. People are suffering. People are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are at the beginning of mass extinction, and all you can talk about is money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth. How dare you!” When people don’t believe in God they believe in anything. But how do God’s people respond to chaos?

In verse eight there is a very important word that contrasts the response of the godless nations to chaos and God’s people. It’s the word “But.” The nations may respond in fear and anxiety, but not God’s people. Three times in verses eight through twenty God tells his people not to fear. Verse ten, “Fear not.” Verse thirteen, “Fear not.” Verse fourteen, “Fear not.” When you find repetition you find a message, and the message for God’s people is not to fear.

If the declaration of God’s sovereignty in verses one through seven is not enough to help you walk through your fears and anxieties, then the assurances, commitments, and promises that God makes to his people in verses eight through twenty are given to embolden the people of God to do so.

First, God makes a promise of possession. He, in essence, says to his people, to us, “You are mine.” Verses eight and nine: “But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham, my friend; you whom I took from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest corners, saying to you, "You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off” (Isaiah 41:8-9). Notice the use of the possessive pronouns: “My servant...my friend...my servant.” The Lord is communicating to his people that their identity is found in him. He’s communicating to us that we are his! We are his because he chose us and he called us.

As a pastor, I have been called many things. Some call me “brother.” Some call me “Reverend.” Some call me “preacher.” Some call me “pastor.” But the most affectionate, assuring, and comforting term I can be called is “my pastor.” It emboldens me in my calling. It cast out any doubt a may have about my calling. And it amazingly dispels any fear or anxiety I may have about my calling. It’s when church members move from “my pastor” to “the pastor” that I’m often consumed with anxiety. When God says “you’re mine,” it’s intended to drive out fear.

Second, God makes a promise of presence. Verse ten: “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10). It’s comforting to know that God is with us, and based on his presence, we are not to fear. Not only does he promise his presence, but he reiterates his possession, that we are his people and he is our God: “Be not dismayed, for I am your God.” On account of God’s grace, he possesses us and we possess him. I love how the NASB translates his statement: “Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.” We have the promise of God’s possession, we are his, and he is ours. We have the promise of his presence.

Third, God makes the promise of deliverance. Verses eleven through thirteen: “Behold, all who are incensed against you shall be put to shame and confounded; those who strive against you shall be as nothing and shall perish. You shall seek those who contend with you, but you shall not find them; those who war against you shall be as nothing at all. For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, "Fear not, I am the one who helps you” (Isaiah 41:11-13). These verses give us a powerful picture of God as our defender and deliverer.

Whatever comes against us, God says he will put to shame and confound. Anything or anyone that opposes us does not stand a chance because God will defend us and deliver us, and verse thirteen is why: “For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who so to you, ‘Fear not, I am the one who helps you.’” In verse ten God upholds us with his right hand. In verse thirteen, God holds our right hand. Put verses ten and thirteen together and you have a beautiful picture of God the father defending his people with his right hand while holding on to our right hand with his left hand. He’s with us, he defending us, and he will not lose us.

When my oldest daughter was learning to walk, I took her to a store in downtown Athens, Texas. We had to park in the back of the store, and the parking lot was made up of these fist-sized rocks. The size of the rocks made it a difficult walk for a little girl learning to walk. I offered to carry her, but being a stubborn child, she refused. I even offered my hand, but she wanted to do it on her own. It didn’t take long for her to reach out and grab my hand, yet even holding on my hand she struggled. Even though she was holding onto my hand, she started to fall. That is when my hand grabbed her hand preventing her fall. At that moment, I became her deliverer. Don’t fear, in the same way, God is your deliverer.

Fourth, God gives the promise of strength. We see this promise in verse fourteen through sixteen: “Fear not, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel! I am the one who helps you, declares the Lord; your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel. Behold, I make of you a threshing sledge, new, sharp, and having teeth; you shall thresh the mountains and crush them, and you shall make the hills like chaff; you shall winnow them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the tempest shall scatter them. And you shall rejoice in the Lord; in the Holy One of Israel, you shall glory” (Isaiah 41:14-16).

When God calls Israel “worm” it is not a derogatory term. It is a term that denotes weakness. By worldly standards Israel is weak, but with God’s help, though weak, Israel becomes strong. The Lord uses some interesting imagery in verse fifteen: “Behold, I make of you a threshing sledge, new, sharp, and having teeth; you shall thresh the mountains and crush them…” The power is not in the threshing sledge, but the one who is wilding it, which is the Lord. God promises that when we are weak, he will make us strong.

Fifth, God promises resurrection. Verses seventeen through nineteen: “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. 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. 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” (Isaiah 41:17-19).

When Isaiah is preaching these words, he is doing so before the events ever happened. It’s called a prophecy. These verses anticipate a people who have experienced the judgment, destruction, and deportation that the Lord promised through Isaiah. They are located in Babylon. Isaiah describes the people as “poor” and “needy.” This condition is not limited to material needs.

The needs that God’s people have encompasses physical, emotional, and spiritual. The condition involves suffering and severe needs that human means can’t meet. Notice how the conditions are described: “parched with thirst...bare heights...valleys...wilderness...dry land… the desert.” The imagery that Isaiah is using portrays a condition that is barren and unproductive. It’s dead, but God’s not dead.

In the seasons of drought, the seasons of death is when God’s people begin to question the goodness of God. We begin to think that God has abandoned us, that God is not answering our prayers. The Lord assures us in verse seventeen that not only does God hears our prayers; he answers them There is no need that God can’t meet.

Verses eighteen and nineteen reveal how God answers our suffering and painful season. He answers with a complete reversal of the condition. What is dead comes to life. That is what God is declaring in these verses, a renewal, a revival, a restoration, and resurrection of his people.

You see, God allows us to experience dead seasons, barren and unproductive seasons, dry seasons, and seasons that cause fear and anxiety. Why? So that he can bring a reversal to our situations, a resurrection to our dead circumstances, and peace to our frustrating outlook.

The imagery of water and trees represent God’s presence. Some commentators believe that the seven trees presented in verse nineteen represent the glory of God, his presence. God himself becomes our refreshment, our restoration, our renewal. Jesus spoke of this when he said: "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water” (John 7:37-38).

God himself becomes our resurrection. Jesus said outside the tomb of Lazarus: "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live” (John 11:25).

One morning, a few years back, I was spending time with the Lord. As I was praying, I started to gaze upon a picture hanging on our wall. The artwork by Thomas Kincaid is called “The Passing Storm.” It consists of a lighthouse after a storm has passed. This print is special to us because it was given to us after a very, what seemed long at the time, trial. It was and is a sign of God moving us out of a dead season to a new season of life. 

As I looked at the picture I started to weep, wondering if the present season would every pass. While looking at the picture it went from being a lighthouse to being a tomb, at least it did in my mind. I found myself standing outside of the tomb, and next to me was Jesus. In the tomb was my calling and gifting, and my passion to advance the kingdom of God. I asked Jesus will my dead dreams ever come back to life? He then began to call them out. I could see them coming back to life. I’m still waiting.

I have a man cave at my house, and it’s not your typical man cave. Mine consists of my Library. It doesn’t have a television, but if it did, I would watch Hallmark movies on it. A couple of weeks ago I was spending time with the Lord. As I looked at my bookshelves this fear and anxiety came over me. I started to question my calling, wondering if I would ever prepare sermons and preach again. I was scared that I would forget how to preach and prepare sermons. As I was overcome with anxiety, the Lord spoke to me these words: “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?" (John 11:40). The very same words that Jesus spoke to Martha and Mary before he raized Lazarus from the dead.

Why does God allow things to die in our lives? Why does he allow seasons in the desert and wilderness? Notice verse twenty: “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” (Isaiah 41:20). We get the mercy, and God gets the glory! God’s ultimate purpose of restoration and resurrection is to lavish himself upon us. 

Are you poor and needy? Do you find yourself in a fearful and anxious wasteland, wondering if God hears you, or is he near you? Are you spiritually parched and thirsty? I have a word for you: Hang on. Change is coming. Hang on. Don’t you worry about a thing!

A Way Through The Desert

It's always darkest before the dawn. This statement is a great metaphor describing the challenges of life. It reminds us life is fragile and unpredictable. An unfortunate reality of life is that it may worsen before it gets better.  

 
 

This pattern of bad preceding good is seen in the Bible. Before Joseph made it to Pharaoh’s palace, he was thrown into prison. Before the Israelites were delivered from Egyptian captivity, it became more oppressive. Before the Israelites crossed into the Promise Land, they wandered in the wilderness. Before Jesus was raised to life, he was beaten, bruised, and crucified.  

 
 

The prophet Isaiah uses this pattern of darkness before light. He warns the Israelites that darkness was coming upon Jerusalem by the hands of the Babylonians, and a remnant would be exiled for seventy years. It was going to be a dark time in the life of God's people. However, the darkness would be followed by deliverance. The Lord promised to bring his people back to the destroyed homeland, and they would rebuild again.  

 
 

Isaiah reminds God's people that he is for us: "Thus says the Lord your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “For your sake I send to Babylon and bring them all down as fugitives, even the Chaldeans, in the ships in which they rejoice. I am the Lord your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King" (Isaiah 43:14-15). God is for his people.  

 
 

The Exodus event reassures God's people that he is with us: "Thus says the Lord, who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters who brings forth chariot and horse, army and warrior; they lie down; they cannot rise; they are extinguished, quenched like a wick" (Isaiah 43:16-17). Opposing, or adverse circumstances, nor hostile people, or problems will ever deter God. The past is proof!  

 
 

Even so, God doesn't want his people to focus on completed victories: "“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old" (Isaiah 43:18). Forget past victories! Dwelling on the "good-old-days" can keep us from seeing the brand-new things God is doing at this moment in time, "Behold; I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert" (Isaiah 43:19). God never runs out of ways to deliver his people from troubles.  

 
 

Dark experience after dark experience seems to be the rhythm of life. Challenging obstacles abound, long, drawn-out journeys that test our faith; unknown futures make us anxious. We lack security from day to day, and it seems like our heavenly home far off, and makes us question whether we will endure the journey. 

 
 

The past victories of God remind us that God delivers, but we must not stay focused on the past. God is consistently at work, and he is constantly doing a new thing. Therefore, we look to the future with hope, and move forward in strength, knowing that the conquering death and resurrection of Christ Jesus defeated Satan, sin, and death, and gives us life abundantly, and life eternally. 

Find yourself in a hard spot? I'm in one now! Nevertheless, God is doing a new thing. We must understand that we don't go from one new thing to another. When God does something new, a majority of the time it's preceded by trials and tribulations. And even if our misfortune is caused by our own disobedience (like Israel's) we can be confident that God is at work, molding us into the image of his Son, Jesus Christ. Look up and trust God. He is doing a new thing. You just wait and watch.   

 
 

Shattered Dreams: Dead-end or Doorway?

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope” 

(Jeremiah 29:11)

The above passage has been a wonderful promise and encouragement for God’s people throughout redemptive history.  From the very first Jewish audience that heard the words for the first time to modern day Christians, God has assured his people of his plan and purpose for them.   Even so, many believers don’t grasp the significance on account of not grasping the context in which it is given. 

God gave this wonderful promise to Israel, one that would be fulfilled after they experienced God’s judgment.  Jeremiah was sent to Israel to call them back to the Lord.  They didn’t listen; therefore, God brought destruction upon Jerusalem, the temple, and the people of God.  A remnant of the people was exiled for 70 years.  In other words, their dreams were shattered.  

Nevertheless, in God’s economy, shattered dreams are not a dead-end, but a doorway for God’s grace.  Notice what the verse before the one above says, ““For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place” (Jeremiah 29:10).  God was going to enable them to dream again.  Shattered dreams are a doorway for God to do great and higher things in our lives.   

• Think of discomforting times in your life that caused distrust.  How did you respond? What are some of the lessons God taught you?  
• Think of a time of devastation in your life that became a doorway for greater and higher dreams.  If you are a parent, share with your children and teach them about the forgiveness and faithfulness of God.
•  Pray for a greater awareness of God’s activity in the lives of your family. Pray for opportunities to share God’s faithfulness with those around you.