God Is Stronger

This is the message given in the Gettysburg United Methodist church on Sunday night, October 4, 2020.  The Bible verses used are Isaiah 40:1-11.

            There’s a lot of stuff going on in the world.  You don’t need me to tell you about it.  We are living through things that nobody living has experienced.  

I mean, yes, there have been bad times before, and I don’t know how you compare things across eras.  But I never, in my wildest dreams, thought we’d see a time when churches were closed, the way they were earlier this year and the way some still are.  I never thought I’d see a time when sports was cancelled.  I never thought I’d see a time when people were wearing masks to go out of their houses.  I’m not saying that’s wrong, don’t misunderstand.  I’m just saying that seven months ago, I never would’ve thought that was possible.  It never even would’ve occurred to me that something like that would happen.

            Some people see God’s judgment in this.  I don’t know.  I’m not saying it cannot be.  I’m just saying I don’t know.  I know God is all powerful, which means that nothing ever happens that God does not allow to happen.  And God is all-knowing and all-wise, so God must have good reasons for allowing these things to happen, even if I don’t know what they are.  And God is all-loving, so whatever God’s reasons are, they have to be reasons that, in the long run, are going to be for the benefit of humanity, even if that’s hard for us to understand.

            But you know, this is not the first time people have had a hard time, nor is it the first time people have had trouble understanding why God was allowing bad things to happen.  That was the situation of the people of Israel in the time of Isaiah.

            Israel was a small country.  It did not have a big army.  And it had enemies on all sides, enemies that were a lot more powerful than it was.  The big dog, the one they were most worried about, was Assyria.  In fact, they were so scared of Assyria that they were trying to make a deal with Egypt to protect them from Assyria.  But Egypt was not going to do that just because the Egyptians were such nice people.  They were going to want something in return.  If Egypt saved Israel from Assyria, then Egypt was going to take over Israel.  Either way, Israel was in trouble.

            And the prophet Isaiah does not give Israel a lot of good news.  If you’ve ever read the book of Isaiah, you know that most of the book is Isaiah telling people that this is God’s judgment on them.  They have abandoned the Lord God, and so the Lord God has abandoned them.  God is going to allow them to be taken over.  

            But Isaiah does not tell them that the situation is hopeless.  Isaiah tells them there is, in fact, hope.  That’s the subject of our passage for tonight.

            God, speaking through Isaiah, gives the people a message of hope.  Yes, things have been hard for Israel.  And they’re going to be hard a while longer.  But, God tells Isaiah, there will come a time when the hard times will be over.  There will come a time when God decides Israel has paid for its sins.  And even though they’re going through hard times, they need to be ready for when the better times come.  Listen to what God, speaking through Isaiah, says:

In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord;  make straight in the desert a highway for our God.  Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain.  And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together.  For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

God tells Isaiah that things are going to get better.  In fact, things are going to get really good.  And not only that, everyone’s going to know that it’s God who did it.  That’s what God means when He says, “The glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together.”  When things get better--and God makes it clear that they will--everyone is going to know that the people were saved by God, and they are going to give honor and glory and praise to God.

And the thing is, even Isaiah has a hard time believing that.  It says, “A voice says, ‘Cry out.’  And I said, ‘What shall I cry?’”  Isaiah says, in effect, you’re telling me to tell people things are going to get better, but how can I do that?  Things are falling apart.  People’s faithfulness is like the flowers of the field.  It’s here today and gone tomorrow.  And the same can be said of the people themselves.  How am I supposed to tell them that things are going to be okay?

Do you ever feel like that now?  It’s easy to.  We’ve got a lot of things that are not going well right now.  It’s not just the corona virus.  There are wildfires and hurricanes.  There are--well, you don’t need me to go through the list.  You know it as well as I do.  We keep looking for signs that things are going to get better, but--it’s really hard to see them.  We keep wanting things to get back to normal, but we’re starting to wonder if that’s possible.  In fact, sometimes we wonder what normal even is anymore.  How in the world can we accept a message that says things are going to be okay?

Well, God gave Isaiah an answer.  And the answer is this:  “The Word of the Lord endures forever.”

God told Isaiah, you can tell people things are going to be okay because I am the Lord, your God.  If people need a reason to believe things are going to be okay, remind them of who I am.  Tell them that I am the all-powerful, almighty. eternal God.  Tell them I am the all-knowing, all-seeing, all-wise God.  Tell them I am the all-loving, all-caring, all-compassionate, all-gracious, and all-forgiving God. 

Listen to how God puts it:  “Lift up your voice with a shout, lift it up, do not be afraid; say to the towns of Judah:  ‘Here is your God!’  See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power, and he rules with a mighty arm.”  And also:  “He tends his flock like a shepherd:  He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.”

God tells Isaiah:  This is all you need to do--tell them who I am.  And tell them that because that’s who I am, they can be confident that I am stronger than any of their enemies.  I am stronger than Egypt.  I am stronger than Assyria.  I am stronger than anything you are facing or ever will face.  I will win.  And I love you, so if you will stay with Me, you’ll win, too. 

And that’s what God is saying to us now.  God says, I understand that you’re concerned.  Maybe you’re even scared.  I understand that.  But you don’t have to be.  I am the Lord, your God.  Remember who I am.  You don’t have to be afraid.  I am coming.  I will come at the right time.  And I will come with power and might.  I am stronger than anything you face.  I am stronger than the corona virus.  I am stronger than natural disasters.  I am stronger than anything humans can create, too.  And whatever you may be facing in your personal life, I am stronger than that, too.  I am stronger than anything you are facing or ever will face.  I am the Lord, your God.

But God also reminds us that God will use His strength for us.  God wants us to be part of his flock.  God wants to gather us in and carry us close to His heart.  God wants to gently lead us and guide us through all the things we’re going through.  

Isaiah had a hard time believing all that at first.  Maybe you have a hard time believing it, too.  It’s okay.  Again, God understands.  God understands why we have trouble, why we get scared.  But God does not want us to be scared.  God does not want us to live our lives in fear.  God wants us to trust Him.  Trust in His strength.  Trust in His power.  And trust in His love.  Trust that God will use God’s strength and God’s power for our benefit.  Trust that God will use God’s power to see us through everything, and to bring us out the other side, because God loves us.

And trust one more thing.  Trust that God has a reason for allowing things to be the way they are right now.  It’s the same reason God gave Isaiah:  “the glory of the Lord will be revealed and all people will see it together.”

I don’t know when things will get better.  I don’t know how things will get better.  But I know they will.  And I also know this:  when they do, it will be God who makes it happen.  And everyone will know it is God who made it happen.  When things get better, the glory of the Lord will be revealed and all people will see it together.

            God is in control.  God has always been in control.  God will always be in control.  And God will use His power for us, because God loves us.  No matter what you may see happening, either in the world or in your own life, we can trust God to see us through it.  Things will get better.  The glory of the Lord will be revealed.  All people will see it together.  And it will be awesome.