As a minister of the gospel, priest in my home and a Christ follower I have been concerned with the acts of violence, hate and division that are spreading in my country at the moment. I have been praying for peace and healing for my nation. While I don’t even try to pretend to have the right answers for all that is going on. I do struggle with why a nation that is founded as one nation under God does not seem to be seeking Him out for answers. I struggle with the whats and whys just like everyone else. I find myself asking God what can I do? What can I do differently? What needs to change in me? What changes can we as the church do to present Christ to the world correctly and effectively? If I may be transparent, sometimes I just look up at the sky and ask God, is anything that I’m doing even being seen or heard? Does anyone hear His word anymore? We have to be honest with ourselves before we can ever be anything for anyone else. I’m not scared in the least of questioning God and we shouldn’t be. If my children were never able to question why and how I do things they would never grow into thinkers they would just be doers. To be a contributing part of the Kingdom of God and the society we live in we must be thinkers and doers. It’s the questions my children ask that allow me to see where they are maturing and maybe where they aren’t. It allows me to help them where they are at, not just where I think they should be. I’m good with that. Father God is looking forward to your questions. With that said, I was praying and asking Him questions and He reminded me that I wasn’t alone. Many men of God that have gone before me have stood in like trials and conflicting times in history and asked these same questions.
In Isaiah 53 we read probably the best description and prophecy of the coming of the Messiah and his life while on earth in the whole bible. So when this reference came to mind while praying I was thinking “ok God I get it”. But, I didn’t “get it” just yet. I went and read the passage over again and it took me a minute to get past the first verse. “Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” Wow! Ouch! The prophet Isaiah was asking this question before the Messiah had even come. He only had hope. He had not seen nor did he have the report of any that had. He only had the voice of a God no one else wanted to hear from let alone believe in. He was standing and confronting a nation that was doing everything but what God wanted. They were involved in idol worship and they were even sacrificing their own children to these idols. They were tearing their own nation apart from the inside out with hate and prejudices from everything imaginable from religion to politics and race and nationality. They were a hot mess to say the least. And here stood Isaiah proclaiming the voice of the very God they wanted nothing to do with.
The word report in this verse literally means “the thing heard”. So Isaiah was asking if these folks were believing anything that they had heard. Sound familiar? Paul mentions this in Romans 10:16,17. Which leads me to believe that he too had these struggles and concerns.
Romans 10:16,17 says, “ But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us? So faith comes from hearing and hearing through the word of Christ.”
Now I see the humanity in my questioning. Both Isaiah and Paul were men of God. Prophets and teachers. Paul wrote great letters of teaching and encouragement to the churches. He was stoned and whipped for his stance on the word of God. So it quieted me for a moment upon that thought. Paul and Isaiah’s passion to share the oracles of God to a lost world were most likely stronger than mine at the moment. But even then they still struggled with where they were in all that was going on around them.
I thank God for revelation and mercy. To think of the passion and heart of the men and women who have persevered before me for the gospel and the persecution they endured makes my questions to God seem selfish.
“And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”
This part of the verse is often read over and not heard. I think it to be the most powerful statement made here. Isaiah is asking, How many of them have been affected by the Lord through his many provisions and miracles? How many have been delivered and set free? How many have been healed? How many have been touched by the loving hand of the almighty and don’t show it? It should be a wake up call for us. We should take a look back and see where the Lord has changed our lives and begin to show it and share it. The fact that Isaiah was taking notice of this, once again, should let us know we are not alone. How many do we know that have been miraculously touched and then disappear as if nothing happened. The Bible tells us in Revelation 12:11 that those who overcame the accuser of the brethren (the devil) did so by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony. This means they spoke up. They used their voices! They shared what God had done in them to them and through them. They shared and encouraged each other. They shared their relationship with God with anyone who would listen. They didn’t hide it. It was what pushed them and empowered them to stand when all else had fallen. Wow!
So, when the world around us doesn’t seem to be listening. When you feel overwhelmed by what you see. Remember you’re not the first to feel this way. You are not alone. You are in the company of some pretty prestigious “who’s who” of the gospel. Slow down and take the time to be an overcomer. Share your testimony with someone. Be the encouragement that you need. In a time when the world we live in needs it the most. We have the hope within us that the world is dying to know. So, like Isaiah and Paul, don’t stop because of what you see, finish the race well!
Father I thank you for your mercy and faithfulness toward us. I thank you for the strength to endure until the end. I pray for those who might feel overwhelmed and discouraged by what they see around them and I ask you to bring encouragement their way. Allow them to see the hope that has been given them in a new light. Thank you Father for every opportunity to share what you have done for us with others. Give us the courage to have a voice without fear of retaliation. Thank you for your peace and joy that shines through in all we do that will draw others to want to know about you. Let our testimonies be all for your glory. Amen
M.U.S.C.L.E. 