It’s not if, but when. We can be sure God will ultimately prevail

By Dean Collins

It is sometimes difficult to embrace all God has promised us when the dark clouds surround us and the path forward appears unclear. Yet it was in moments like this the prophet Isaiah encouraged his beloved of old—and us—to do what looks to be counterintuitive. Isaiah gave God’s children five instructions in chapter 54:

Sing
Enlarge
Do not hold back
Fear not
Be not confounded

Exuberant praise

Sing? I don’t know about you, but singing isn’t usually my go-to strategy when facing uncertainty. I might sing the blues and wallow in grief, but that is not the instruction we find in verse 1: “Sing, O barren one, who did not bear; break forth into singing and cry aloud.”

The tone of this verse is more like belting out a praise song. But note the singing is about what is about to happen even though current dynamics don’t appear to justify praise.

In God’s grand drama, he addressed those in exile as barren and desolate. These don’t usually top our list of reasons to praise God. But the prophetic voice of Isaiah spoke of a time that was coming. God had a plan and was implementing it, even during exile. The prophet’s voice was clear: Expand your plans. Don’t hold back. Strengthen your stakes.  These are words that suggest abundance and not scarcity.

Shocking declaration

To be barren in ancient times was a very vulnerable situation. The ancient economy was tied to having babies, especially boy babies. Remember Jacob? The tension of not producing a male heir was tremendous.  And if the husband died and there were no living male children, or if the wife had been divorced, things became especially dicey.  So Isaiah’s declaration would have been shocking.

The exiles were told, as are we: “Fear not, for you will not be ashamed; be not confounded, for you will not be disgraced; for you will forget the shame of your youth.” To be barren, divorced, and abandoned were all experiences that brought shame. And while those experiences may not be your experience, we have all made mistakes, some large and some small, and at times it is easy to allow those experiences to define us. But that is not God’s story. God sent Jesus to pay the penalty for our sin and to redeem us, restore us, and take away all condemnation.

Expanding territory

Isaiah spoke of the time when God’s territory would expand beyond Jerusalem and to the uttermost parts of the world. Paul said it this way in Ephesians 3:9:

“. . . and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.”

While Isaiah could not see the details, it is clear from the whole of Scripture that his prophecy spoke of Christ, and even of us as the “bride of Christ,” centuries later. This is significant for us today as we may find ourselves in moments that look and may very well be barren and desolate. What we can be sure of is that God hasn’t quit on us. He is still weaving his tapestry, even through our brokenness.

Advancing kingdom

All through history the enemy of God has formed plans to disrupt and limit God’s work of restoration, but as Isaiah pointed out so clearly, the Lord has compassion on us. The enemy will not, cannot, and will never be able to prevent the advancing kingdom of God. We have a spiritual heritage that the enemy simply cannot contend with.

“…no weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed, and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord and their vindication from me, declares the Lord.”

On this side of Heaven we may never completely see how God is using our surrender for his glory. But the pages of Scripture are clear; God will be victorious over all enemy disruptions.

We may not see when and we may not see how, but God redeems everything for his glory and in his time.

Lord, today we thank you for the prophet Isaiah who spoke words of truth and encouragement to the exiles in Jerusalem. We accept that in Christ we are recipients of the heritage the prophet spoke of centuries ago. Give us courage to trust you and to not pull back or hold back from allowing your Holy Spirit to lead us boldly in proclaiming your good news in us, through us, and especially through our weakness.  In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

Your time with God’s Word
Isaiah‬ ‭54‬:‭1‬-‭17, ‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭3‬:‭9‬-‭13‬ ‭ESV‬ ‭

Photo by Michał Mancewicz on Unsplash
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