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Todd's
Tips For Tough Times: Untangling Today's Twists With Timeless Truth
From The Bible Teaching Ministry of Todd M.
Freeman
Isaiah 30:18
What is it that
captures your thoughts? What do you dream about? What do
you long for? Is it a specific job? Is it being filthy
rich? Is it a romantic adventure? Is it a fulfilling walk
with God? We all have deep longings. Did you know that God
has a longing? Isaiah 30:18 reveals to us God's longing.
ISA 30:18 Yet the LORD longs
to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the
LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!
God longs to be gracious to you. His deepest desire is not to
hammer you into shape, but to gently and kindly reach out to you.
When does God want to be gracious to you? Is it when you
faithfully obey Him? Is it when you walk humbly and boldly with
Him? Amazingly, the scripture reveals to us that God longed to be
gracious to His people when they were hard hearted and
rebellious.
ISA
30:1 "Woe to the obstinate children," declares the LORD," to
those who carry out plans that are not mine, forming an alliance, but
not by my Spirit, heaping sin upon sin; The people of God were called obstinate.
They were bull headed, devoid of reason. Their own plans meant
devising political help instead of spiritual help against the wicked
empire Assyria. They were afraid of this ruthless nation and
sought security and help from Egypt, another powerful political force,
instead of the Lord.
We need to examine our lives to make sure that we are placing our
confidence in the Lord instead of worldly alliances. The result
of misplaced faith is sin upon sin. God
loved them so much that He sent His spokesman to warn the people of
their sin. Verses 2-8 describe
the uselessness of the Egyptian alliance. The tragedy is
not that they made worldly alliances instead of trusting the leading of
God's Spirit. The tragedy is that they were unwilling to listen
to the truth and repent. ISA 30:9
These are rebellious people, deceitful children, children unwilling to
listen to the LORD's instruction. ISA 30:10
They say to the seers, "See no more visions!"and to the prophets,"Give
us no more visions of what is right! Tell us pleasant things,prophesy
illusions. I SA 30:11 Leave this way,get off this path, and
stop confronting us with the Holy One of Israel!" They were so determined to have their way and be
right, that they consciously resisted God's instruction! They
demanded that the prophet stop communicating the clear, convicting
truth of God. They did not want to be confronted with
the Holy One of Israel.
The Lord rebuked them with piercing words stored for us in Isaiah 30:12-14. God made it
clear that they would suffer consequences for their sinful
choices. Many times God's judgement is not some mystical force
that envelops us, but rather the natural result which comes from sinful
actions. God paints vivid imagery: a crashing wall and broken
pottery. These symbolized painful experiences faced because
of their worldly alliance. Much of the suffering we face goes
back to an alliance made outside of the Holy Spirit.
God then proceeds to
explain the foundation of a godly life. ISA
30:15 This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel,
says: "In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust
is your strength, but you would have none of it." The godly person humbles himself and changes his
thinking in order to be in agreement with God. Then he rests in
God's thinking and instruction. His life is marked by quietness
and trust. That is a beautiful picture of a godly person
walking with the Lord. The last phrase of this verse is
heartbreaking! The people of God would
have none of it. They were too busy making their own
plans and desiring their own ways to align their lives with the Lord.
The result of this was that God pronounced a swift and furious judgment
at the hands of evil Assyria.
All this sets the back
drop for our key verse. God doesn't long to be gracious only when
His people are obedient and humble; rather the Lord longs to be
gracious even when they are obstinate and rebellious. As an
often impatient parent, I would understand if the Lord had chosen to
yell at his hard headed kids. I would have been able to relate to
a good tongue lashing, or a prolonged removal of privileges. That
is not how God responds. Instead, the Heavenly Father's unconditional
love is shown in His desire to lavish the unlovely with love. It
is one thing to shower love on someone when they deserve it, but it is
something else to respond in love when they reject, ignore and ridicule
you and your ways.
This is the breath
taking love of the cross. God didn't reach out to a loving,
obedient children who sought His affection. He loved us while we
were still sinners! Romans
5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we
were still sinners, Christ died for us. His love is impossible to fathom. How could the
sinless Son of God become sin for us? How could He willingly suffer physical, mental, and
emotional abuse from the very ones who a short time earlier shouted,
"Hosanna to the Son of David!" "Blessed is he who comes in
the name of the Lord!" "Hosanna in the highest?" (Matthew 21:9). Not
only was Jesus betrayed by Judas; He was betrayed by the crowds that
proclaimed Him the one who comes in the name of the Lord. It is
easy to lash out at these crowds which lived two thousand years ago,
but what about today? There are still many who jump on the Jesus
bandwagon, but persecute Him whenever His will conflicts with their own
set agendas.
The amazing good news
is that Jesus died not only for the ones who received Him, but for
those who led Him to the cross. This is the week that we ponder
the brutal slaying of the Son of God. This is the week that we
contemplate the depth of a perfect love that compelled Jesus to go to
Calvary. This is appropriate; but even more so, it is a command
from the scriptures. Hebrews 12:2
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith,
who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame,
and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
God longs to be gracious to us. His most gracious act was the
enduring of the cross, an act that is described as the joy set before
Him. Why? I confess that there is nothing which
strikes me as joyful about the experience of the crucifixion. The
key, though, did not rest on how he was treated by mankind; but rather
in how he would be able to pull mankind out of the miry pit of sin and
restore him into a right relationship with the Heavenly Father. RO 5:6 You see, at just the right time,
when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7
Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man
someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates
his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died
for us.
God's love toward us is
action oriented. The longing of His heart resulted in the action
of His sacrifice. This is what is meant by "he
rises to show you compassion." His
compassion was displayed when He held nothing back. He gave all
that He had at Golgotha, the place of
the skull (Matthew 27:33). Isaiah 30:18 clearly states that God is a God of justice.
His justice would not allow Him to overlook
sin. His perfect holiness would not allow Him to let the guilty
go unpunished. The answer was to take the punishment others
deserved upon Himself. This is why Christians celebrate the
Lord's Supper. We do it to remember and honor our Lord who died in our
place. I had a debt I could not pay; yet, He paid a debt He did not
owe. The verse closes by saying, "Blessed
are all who wait for Him!" These
words were penned 700 years before Jesus Christ entered the frame of
human existence. We no longer have to wait for Him to come. He
did come and now He wants us to believe on Him. He wants us to place
our full faith in Him. He is there, ready to forgive us. He is there
ready to provide for us. He is there longing to pour out His
blessings upon us. ISA 30:19
O people of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How
gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will
answer you. 20 Although the Lord gives you the bread of
adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no
more; with your own eyes you will see them. 21 Whether you
turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind
you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it."
Will you drop any
worldly alliances that are keeping you from experiencing the joy of the
Lord? Will you soften any hardness of heart that keeps you from
hearing His voice and instruction? Will you cry out to Him
for help? Let the Lord speak to you. May you clearly
hear Him say, "This is the way; walk in it."
Always keep in mind God's longing. He
longs to be gracious to you; He rises to show you compassion. His glorious
RESURRECTION guarantees that He is able to fulfill His promises.
He is risen! He is risen indeed!
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