God Who Purposes
I am a lover of the book of Isaiah. I would argue it is probably my favorite book in the entire metanarrative. If you have ever read the book of Isaiah, you may think that is a bit odd of me because it is a book that depicts a very angry God. it is full of destruction and wrath.
So when you look at the book of Isaiah in that context, yeah. It may seem just a bit odd that I love it so much. But the reason I love the book of Isaiah so much is because of the whole story - chapters one to sixty-six. See when we hear from God in Isaiah one, we find out that God is burdened by his people. His people have been doing all the things they thought they were supposed to do to please him, they were doing all the sacrifices and festivals… but they had stopped caring about the things God cared about.
They didn’t care about justice, or loving one another well and God tells us he is burdened by this. He is heartbroken and weary from the actions of them.
This is one of the chapters in scripture I am most consistently convicted by. I wonder how often we do all the things we are supposed to that would “please God” and make us “good christians”, but we stop listening to what breaks the heart of God. We go to bible study, and never miss a sunday morning service, but we don’t spend much time with God in the quiet.
We are quick to raise our hands in worship but we are worshiping a God we have created. A God that fits our own agendas, our own prejudices, and our own biases. We stop asking God what his heart breaks for, and in turn our hearts stop trying to please His own.
and this is only the first chapter, those that follow are of God passing judgment and of trial.
So at this point, you honestly might be asking yourself: Makenzie, what is there to like about this book?
Well, the reason I love this book so much is because in the midst of the anger, frustration, trials and tribulations we see a God who never once stops caring for His people. This God shows compassion time and time again, even if this compassion doesn’t immediately meet the eye.
Seemingly, God has hidden his face from the israelites. It seems he no longer hears their cries, no longer looks upon them with favor. But we see a true example of what to do when we feel like God has done this to us in Isaiah, who is attentively waiting on God. he says in chapter eight “I will wait for the Lord, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope in him.”
And Isaiah waits. He waits while God waits quietly from His place of dwelling. While his people weep bitterly.
I am sure you are wondering now.. Makenzie, where is that compassion you mentioned?
Well, it is when God says that even though His people’s hearts are far from him, he will still do wonderful things for them.
And it is when we are told God waits to be gracious to us, to show mercy.
But where I want to lead us today in the book of Isaiah is how God continuously promises that His word will come to pass. In chapter thirty-seven he says
“Have you not heard that I determined it long ago? I planned from days of old what now I bring to pass”
Or when israel’s redemption finally comes, and chapter 47 seven reminds us “ O Israel, you are not forgotten by me’
But the verse that really made a home in my heart today is found in chapter fifty-five, where starting at verse ten God says to the Israelites
“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, so shall my word be that goes 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.”
If you are reading this, I want to ask you: do you feel God has turned his face from you? Do you feel like the israelites in Isaiah? Do you feel that while you cry out, perhaps He is simply watching silently from His place of dwelling? Do you feel it hard to hope in a God that seems to have turned His back on you?
It is okay if you do. Something else God shows us in the book of Isaiah is there is nothing wrong with lamenting, in fact it is a form of worship too.
But if you do feel like this today, what I want to remind you is that God is a God of purpose.
Purpose is a word used a lot in the christian community, and it can be really confusing if you feel maybe you haven’t found your purpose yet.
Purpose and identity seem to walk hand in hand, and it can feel like people who have an understanding of their own purpose and identity are a part of some secret club that you haven’t gotten an invite to.
But if you are struggling with one or both of these things, let me remind you that God loves to purpose things. You have certainly been created with a purpose, and just as God tells us He will not send a purpose with the intention of it coming back to Him unfulfilled.
To put it a different way,
If you haven’t found your purpose yet, that doesn’t mean you don’t have one: it just means you haven’t fulfilled it yet.
Its still there, waiting for you to know it. To take ownership of it.
And if you haven’t found it yet, I have a question maybe you can take courage to challenge yourself today
Are you like the Israelites in Isaiah one? Perhaps a christian who does everything they think they are supposed to without really trying to know God?
We have all been like the Israelites in Isaiah one at one point or another. And I will tell you when I found myself mirroring them I felt really defeated, really confused and really frustrated with God
But do you know something else the book of Isaiah tells us? That God is not a God that speaks in secret, but rather he is a God that decides the truth.
God is not a God that wants to hide your purpose from you, and when you start growing towards that purpose remember God has given us the promise that He will not let it return to him unfulfilled. This word will not return to him empty
I think it can be easy to think that a God that created everything and everyone could have overlooked us, maybe He forgot to give us purpose amidst creating the other seven billion people with purpose themselves.
But God is intentional, and something to remember is that His chosen people are his beloved. when Jesus died upon the cross, The israelites were no longer just considered God’s chosen people; everyone was. Jews and gentiles alike. Me and you alike.
In case you need the reminder, that means you are beloved. Created by an intentional God who has a purpose and identity for you.
There is some beautiful imagery found in this verse in chapter fifty-five. I mean have you ever been caught in a rainstorm? Growing up in North Carolina, I found myself caught in them frequently growing up. Especially during hurricane season.
I used to find them inconvenient, but since moving I find I miss them a lot; especially in the summers.
I think specifically of a heavy rain that hit the summer I worked at a summer camp in michigan. It was our first week there, we barely knew each other. I mean it was downpouring, we all raced inside to stay dry. But almost as soon as I raced inside, three or four of us went right back out. We danced in puddles and belly-laughed and it was one of my favorite memories of the whole summer. It was a very Holy moment.
Rain has a lot of purpose. Just as Isaiah fifty-five tells us, one of those purposes is to nourish the earth. But I firmly believe that specific rainstorm also had purpose to bring us joy. To bless us. To bring fellowship. It was just an overflow of the way God purposes things, and blesses them
Who knows the kind of purpose God has intended for us? And who knows all the ways He will uniquely fulfill it? The ways we will see God’s purpose overflow into blessing?
If you are struggling with purpose today, perhaps spend some time asking yourself:
Have you spent time with God asking what your purpose is?
Are you actively seeking to know God’s heart?
Do you trust He has not forgotten you?
If you are honest with yourself, do you hope in him? Even in the waiting? ( especially in the waiting)
