Message by Pastor Bob Laning
This is life sometimes.
We will look at three Bible passages today. Isaiah 55: 8-11, Isaiah 43: 1-3, and
Romans 8:28. Each has something to say when life is difficult. And they all fit together.
Isaiah 55:8-11 says. 8)For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your
ways my ways, declares the LORD. 9) For as the heavens are higher than the
earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your
thoughts. 10) “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not
return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to
the sower and bread to the eater, 11) so shall my word be that goes out from my
mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I
purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
Isaiah 43:1-3a But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who
formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by
name, you are mine. 2) When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and
through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire
you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. 3) For I am the
LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
Romans 8:28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together
for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
I see encouragement in these verses today, and want to share this with you. It’s no
secret that the last 2-3 years have been very difficult. We all have been affected in
many ways by COVID. I was laid off from my substitute teaching job. I got COVID
myself, after being very careful! Others have also been affected job-wise by the
pandemic. The Japanese worship service in Battle Creek went from a vibrant, lively,
physical service to completely on ZOOM for a while. The Mizutas moved to the Chicago
area after about 25 years of wonderful ministry to the students and other Japanese
people in Western Michigan. And very recently we are saddened by the death of Yuki
Mizuta.. We remember Akane and all that she and her family have gone through and
are still going through. There have been other illnesses as well.
I would like to share an experience that Nancy and I had as we were driving to
Florida for the month of January of this year.
Nancy and I drove to Florida the day after this past Christmas, through January, 2022.
On the way, we stopped at Jacksonville, Florida to explore a little. We parked by a
museum and walked along the St. John River, which flows through Jacksonville. Now,
I’m very careful about my smartphone. We both started the trip with Galaxy Note 9s. I
had mine in a clip on my side. Many times throughout the days, I felt that bump and
checked to make sure that I felt the phone. This day was no different. I checked when
we were in the car, about to drive off from the riverwalk. The phone was not there. It
should have been there. I checked the area around the driver’s seat. Not there. A
feeling of panic swept over me. Where was my phone!? I checked the entire inside of
the car. It was not there. I used that phone for nearly everything. Email, Google Drive.
Texting. Banking online. Apple Music cloud. Dashlane, for securing and finding my
passwords. Bible programs. (I’ve even written sermons on my phone). Substitute
teaching openings, etc. But it was nowhere!
We immediately backtracked to the museum parking lot to look around where the car
had been parked. No phone. I asked the front desk of the museum if anyone had turned
in a smartphone. No one had. Fortunately, I always lock the screen when I’m not using
the phone. I had a good PIN on it, and had fingerprint activated, so it was secure. Still,
I was anxious that someone could have gotten into the phone. I called Samsung (the
Note 9s are made by Samsung) to let them know, and had Sprint lock the phone. I also
couldn’t even locate it. I was without a phone, and I realized how dependent I am on my
phone. There was no way to track it.
Soooo… we went to the nearest Best Buy Store when we settled into our destination in
Ft. Pierce, Florida, to buy a new phone. We were able to buy 2 Galaxy Fold 3 phones
for almost the price of 1. We had not found this kind of deal yet. We were able to get
the most expensive phone for less money than any of the less expensive phones. It
was a great deal, so we bought Nancy a Fold 3 phone also. Plus, they gave us 2 sets of
Galaxy Buds 2 for free. The deal had to be a God thing. Plus, the timing was perfect.
We came to the store at exactly the right time, for the deal only was for that day. Plus,
more of my sensitive information, like banking or passwords were not tampered with. It
was a very stressful week for me (the phones had to be ordered), but I got a new Fold 3
phone for cheaper than any others I had looked at. Nancy even got a phone for the
same price!
Here’s what I learned through this experience.
The first passage that we read, Isaiah 55:8-9, says that God’s ways aren’t our
ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts.
He is not logical in our sense of logic. He has things that He wants to accomplish and
has His own ways on how to accomplish these things. Whether they be in our personal
lives. Or whether they are in our families. Or our jobs. Or our countries. Or currently in
our world. His ways and timing are far above how we think, above our logic, above our
feelings. He has the big, overall perspective which we don’t have. Proverbs 3:5-6 says
that life won’t always make sense. But He always has a reason for everything that
happens. Nothing surprises Him. He is fully expecting everything. I just wish I knew
the reasons for what He does or allows to happen! 🙂 Everything will meet His purpose
and reason for existing or happening. Just as the weather always accomplishes God’s
purpose on the earth, so all things will do what He wants.
Isaiah 55:8-9 implies that life is unfair at times. Why do bad things happen to good
people? Why do some people die of disease when others are perfectly healthy? Last
March, our next door neighbor’s house caught fire. It burned the garage, but spared
burning the entire house. Yet because of smoke damage, they couldn’t live there for
almost a year. Why was their house burned, when ours was spared? Even still, our
house almost caught fire because we were so close to their garage.
He has a purpose for everything that He does. And that purpose will happen. He
wanted to give Nancy and me new phones. I wouldn’t have chosen this way, but it’s the
way that God chose.
Another story is of a woman that once testified in a prayer meeting, “My son was in the
war. I prayed for his safe return. God answered my prayer, and I praise Him for it.”
In that same service was another mother who also had prayed for her son’s safe return.
However, he was killed in battle. Did this mother not have as much faith as the other
mother? Not necessarily. For the full answer we may have to look beyond the moment.
Perhaps this mother may find that God is working for her an experience that will deepen
her spiritual life in such a way that she will receive a greater blessing. Do not question
God’s goodness, but wait and trust. In time He makes all things plain.
Alright, we have seen that God answers prayer and delivers us in life, in His ways and
His timing. We have seen that life can be unfair.
Our second passage, Isaiah 43:1-3 says that difficult experiences will happen, not
might happen. Expect them. God does not consult with us or ask our opinion, but
asks us to live by faith. I had to fully trust God in my lost smartphone situation. I was
scared because of the security of my phone. I had to go a week without my smartphone.
That’s my communication, my information source, etc. I didn’t understand why this
happened. I wouldn’t have chosen to get new phones this way, but God’s timing was
perfect. I still don’t understand why God let me lose my phone, especially when I’m so
careful.
We won’t understand the how He works,or the reasons for what God does, or the when
He does things. Many times these won’t make any sense to us. They might seem the
opposite of what they should be.
From Isaiah 43:1-3 I learned several things that go with God’s thoughts and
ways not being ours. In ancient Israel, a person’s name was very important to whom
he or she was. So God’s knowing their names meant He knew them very well. He
knows us by name. It is personal with Him. He even knows our nicknames. He
has a personal stake in each of us. Today, He knows our personality, our gifting,
talents,likes, and dislikes. He knows what we’re good at and what we struggle with. God
knows our name. He knows us very well.
And God has several names with which He refers to himself. He is God the healer, the
provider, the protector, the God of peace, the God who is there. His name is very
important to Him. It is how we know Him. His own names are very important to Him as
well.
And, in Isaiah 43:1-3, it says that these circumstances, no matter how difficult and
unfair, won’t destroy us. We will come through them. The deep waves of life’s
tsunamies won’t drown us. When you feel burned by life’s fires, you will come through
without being burned. God has promised to go through the waves and flames with us. It
won’t look or feel or think like it. It might be chaotic and heart-wrenching, but He has
promised to be there with us.
We will not be destroyed, smashed down, wrecked, ruined inside. Life will be chaotic
and cruel, but inside we will stand. We will get through it. God has promised to be
there at all times. I was forced to have faith that God would come through when I lost
my phone, even though this is a small example.
Isaiah 41:13 says that “I am the Lord your God. I am holding your hand, so don’t be
afraid. I am here to help you.
God is right there when these things are happening. This doesn’t depend on feelings or
thoughts. If we depend on feelings or needing everything to be logical in the Christian
life, we won’t make it. We have to believe in and know God.
The apostle Paul had something to say about life’s tsunamies. In 2 Corinthians
4:8-11 he says, 8 For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the
affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our
strength that we despaired of life itself. 9 Indeed, we felt that we had received the
sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who
raises the dead. 10 He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver
us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. 11 You also must
help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing
granted us through the prayers of many.
Paul, whom we regard as a super spiritual Christian went through afflications. And he
felt as if he had received a death sentence. His problems went way beyond his strength
and he fell into depression. He was depressed but it did not destroy him. He continued
to trust that God would come through, and was able to hold on and see that God did
come through.
An H.H. Hobbs has said that It is one thing to believe about God; it is another thing to
believe in Him.
Charles Spurgeon, the famous preacher, had this illustration. Your condition is like that
of a child in a burning house, who, having escaped to the edge of the window, hung on
by the windowsill. The flames were pouring out of the window underneath, and the poor
lad would soon be burned, or falling would be dashed to pieces. He therefore held on
with the clutch of death. He did not dare to relax his grasp until a strong man stood
underneath, and said, “Boy! drop! drop! I’ll catch you.” Now, it was no saving faith for
the boy to believe that the man was strong—that was a good help toward faith—but he
might have known that and yet have perished. It was faith when the boy let go and
dropped down into his big friend’s arms.
There are you, sinner, clinging to your sins or to your good works. The Savior cries,
“Drop! drop into my arms!” It is not doing, it is leaving off doing. It is not working, it is
trusting in that work which Jesus has already done. Trust! That is the word—simple,
solid, hearty, earnest trust. Trust and it will not take an hour to save you, the moment
you trust you are saved.
So, the third verse, Romans 8:28, states that God works for the good of those
who love Him. He always brings good out of even the worst circumstances. Life is
unfair, and can be very difficult. Whether it be a lost smartphone, or cancer, or COVID
19 or a sudden lost job, or a burned out home, like our next door neighbors, or whatever
you are facing today. It might not be right away, or in your “logical” way, but God will
come through.
For Paul, in 2 Corinthians 4,, it was God’s deliverance and the furtherance of the
Gospel.
Here is another example. It’s a story of faith through the storm. The person wrote, “I
first rode an airplane in 1945, flying from Mobile, Alabama, to Atlanta, Georgia. Going
and coming the sun was shining, and we had a smooth flight. I trusted the plane, or else
I would not have flown in it. My third flight was to Miami, Florida. The flight down was so
smooth. I was sold on air travel. But on the return trip, we had to travel through a terrific
storm. Flying through the storm cloud was like flying through buttermilk. The plane
bucked and reared. At times I could not even see the wings. Once when we hit a down
draft, I did not know if we were five thousand or five feet off the ground. I thought the
wings had broken off. I was sure we were falling.”
When we landed safely in Mobile, Frances met me at the airport. After I told her what
had happened, she said, “I knew something was wrong. You are green in the face.”
Well, that experience shook my faith in flying. Until one day I said to myself, “That
experience should have strengthened my faith in flying. I now have seen what a plane
can endure and still land safely.”
A parallel exists to having faith in God. When we see how He can bring us safely
through life’s storms, our faith in Him is strengthened that He can do it over and over
again.
Romans 8:28 also says that not only will we survive life situations and people, but
God is able to bring good out of any circumstance. Not only will we get through
them, but we can thrive.
I didn’t know how I lost my phone. It could have been stolen, or I just lost it. However,
He did bring Nancy and me to the Best Buy store at exactly the right time. The correct
sales people were on duty, the exact phone I wanted, the best price I’d ever seen, were
all part of God’s leading us. He allowed me to lose my phone, and gave Nancy and me
a better phone. Not in the way I would have chosen, but He came through in His time, in
His way.
the words of a Mrs. A. D. T. Whitney: “It is almost always when things are all blocked up
and impossible that a happening comes. If you are sure you are looking and ready, that
is all you need. God is turning the world around all the time.”
Soooo.. In these three Bible passages we have a blueprint on how to handle life’s small
problems and huge tsunamies.
Isaiah 55 says that God’s ways are different from ours. The timing, the way things
happen, or don’t happen, will not be logical or make sense to us. I’ve found that with
Nancy and me, when we pray for something, God usually brings the answer in a way
that we never expected. It’s always the best way and timing. All of what God wants
done will happen.
Isaiah 43 says that no matter what happens, we will survive, if we trust in God. He
knows everything about us and what would be best for us. Whether it be by tsunamies,
or fires, or like Paul, problems from all directions. Jesus will be right there with us, and
will get us through. No matter what it looks like, thinks like, or feels like.
And Romans 8:28 says that everything works out for our good. We trust God, and will
see, perhaps much later, that God let this happen or not, for our good. He is able and
willing to bring good out of anything or anyone.
This can be a peaceful life when we trust Jesus.