Thus says your Lord,
your God who pleads the cause of His people: Behold I have taken from your hand
the cup of staggering; the bowl of my wrath you shall drink no more…
- Isaiah
51:22
That morning as I sat under a heavy blanket, God gave me a
deeper understanding of Isaiah 51:9-52:12. And per usual, I was more like the
Israelites than I cared to admit.
In Isaiah 51:9-11, the Israelites are discouraged and
fearful because they feel like God isn’t doing anything. They tell him to wake
up. The people of God are punished for their sin and disobedience by outside
nations and they mistakenly think God doesn’t notice. But God always remains
active in His people’s story.
It was awful for the Israelites (notice how they use awake
three times to indicate just how desperate they were for God to do something),
but what they were suffering was a direct consequence of their sinful
disobedience and rejection of God. So God used nations like the Assyrians and
Babylonians to punish Israel. While Israel was scared of these nations, their
fear was misdirected. They shouldn’t have stood in fear of these attackers, but
in fear of the God who allowed their enemies to punish them for a season.
When God responds to the Israelites in 51:12ff, He reveals
the distorted picture of reality they had believed. The truth was the Israelites
needed to wake up. God had brought their cup of punishment, but He would also
be the one to take it away.
The Lord paints a hopeful picture of the future, but it
transpires through faith in Him. God desires for His people to be who He
created them to be for His glory and their good. God’s plans are larger than
the Israelites can grasp—He intends to extend salvation to all nations. God’s
grace will be more lavishly given out then candy to trick-or-treaters on
Halloween.
The Israelites are instructed to return from their exile and
punishment to restore their land and the vessels used in worship in the temple.
While their circumstances appear daunting, He tells them to go without fear.
They can be confident God will allow them to return and restore the temple and
city. God will be their shield and protector.
And while the Israelites had dragged God’s name through the
mud by their poor testimony and defeat by outsiders, God promises to fix this.
God takes both the shame and punishment out of their hands. This reality points
to God’s mercy and grace and what He will do through Jesus on our behalf—drink
the cup of God’s wrath to make an eternal way back to God Himself.
While my story doesn’t reflect the Israelites, I can see
traces of truth I need to hear. I’m in a season of transition and while not
outwardly fearful, I am frightened I’ll waste my life. I cry out to God for
discernment and direction, but end up confused. I ask God to guide my steps
regarding a new church home, whether we should return overseas or what exactly
I’m supposed to do.
And just when I think I have a sense of where to head, I
turn the corner to find a fork in the road. I slipped into the lie that God
doesn’t notice me—that He doesn’t see me collapsed on the ground in front of
another intersection.
But I need to open my eyes just like the Israelites. I see
another intersection, but my perception is skewed. Where I see a muddy field
with no path, God sees a bog garden—a place with permanently wet soil but a home
to beautiful plants and creatures—in process.
God hands the Israelites a fresh beginning. They must step
out in faith to take it even when enemies surround them. I must trust God
handpicked where my husband matched for his residency and that as I do my best
to live out ordinary faithfulness, God will take this muddy field and turn it
into a bog garden.