The third promise in this verse from Isaiah is that we have a purpose. God is reminding us here that it He who made us. As the old expression goes, God doesn't make junk. He made you with a specific purpose and destiny in mind. Here is this promise expanded:
And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2: 6-10
We are the very workmanship of God! We have been created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do! He has made you and if He made you, He will carry you if He has to! That is the fourth promise in this verse from Isaiah. There will be times in our lives when the storms are too fierce and the valleys are too deep. It is at those very moments that we sink to our weakest and God manifests Himself at His strongest. For it is only through our weakness, when we are utterly dependent upon God that we allow Him to be strong in us and through us. The Apostle Paul teaches us this principle:
To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. - 2Corinthians 12:7-10
God's grace is always sufficient for us. When we are at our weakest, God is at His strongest in our lives. That is why the valley is so needed in our walks. If everything was a mountaintop, we would rely on ourselves all the time and never allow God to manifest His awesome power in our lives. Don't worry about getting too weak, because He has promised us that in that darkest of hours, He will carry us.
The last promise we can hold onto from this Isaiah verse is that God will rescue us as well. He understands that sometimes circumstances become so severe that sustaining us will not be enough; carrying us will not be enough. Instead, we will need rescuing. Peter talks about this:
and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the filthy lives of lawless men (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard) -- if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment, while continuing their punishment. 2Peter 2:7-9
God is promising you in the height of your storm; He can rescue you if necessary. He was able to rescue Daniel in the lion's den. Daniel needed God to sustain him when he refused the King's meat and lived on lentils. He needed God to carry him when he interpreted the King's dreams. But when he was thrown into the lion's den he needed some rescuing! He needed someone to shut the mouths of the lions! Even King Darius knew what Daniel needed when he cast him into the den:
So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions' den. The king said to Daniel, "May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!" Daniel 6:16
And rescue Daniel He did. He is making the same promise to you today as well. Whatever lion's den you find yourself in, God will rescue you too if you continually serve Him.
Promises in your darkness beloved. Promises right from the heart of God for His people. God is the same yesterday, today and forever. He made you with a purpose. He will sustain you in your desert. He will carry you in your valley. He will rescue you in your storm. Stop looking for the way out and instead search for His hand. Hold onto His hand tighter as the storm grows, knowing all the promises He has made you are always yes and amen.
The Gospel of Mark tells us a story of how we need to act in our storms:
That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, "Let us go over to the other side." Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?" Mark 4:35-38
You already have Jesus in your boat beloved. When the storm comes against us we can panic and wonder where God is, when He has always been in our boat; right alongside of us. Just as He rested in this storm, He expects us to do the same in the storms of life. Rest comfortably in the promises He has made you. They were made to see you through the darkness. Amen.
Anthony Wade September 17, 2008
