Exiting Exile.

This is what the LORD says, the one who made a road through the sea, a pathway through the surging waters, the one who led chariots and horses to destruction, together with a mighty army. They fell down, never to rise again; they were extinguished, put out like a burning wick: “Don’t remember these earlier events; don’t recall these former events. Look, I am about to do something new. Now it begins to happen! Do you not recognize it? Yes, I will make a road in the desert and paths in the wilderness. The wild animals of the desert honor me, the jackals and ostriches, because I put water in the desert and streams in the wilderness, to quench the thirst of my chosen people, the people who I formed for myself, so they might praise me.” (Isaiah 43:16-21, NET Bible)

In this past Sunday’s sermon, Pastor Richie shared with us this amazing promise of God. Our God, who has done awesome things for His people in days of old, calls the people of today to forget about the past promises and look for the current ones.

As Isaiah spoke prophetically to the people of his day, there would have been none there who were alive when God used Moses to deliver the nation out of bondage. Everyone knew the story, but no one had lived the story. In fact, Isaiah’s contemporaries were in the midst of their own experience of bondage. They had been forcibly removed from their homeland, and in their minds there was no chance of their ever returning home. In their worldview, exile was a permanent state.

Perhaps some of us are in the same situation. We are earning less as food and shelter costs rise. We are watching unsaved loved ones revel in their fallen state. We see so-called “believers” hardened to the voice and leading of the Holy Spirit. We are second-guessing God’s promises because, as our pastor shared, years have passed and we have no earthly evidence of the promises being fulfilled. Our current state feels and looks like it’s permanent.

But God has spoken.

“Don’t remember these earlier events.” Don’t dwell on the miraculous moments of old. Yes, I am the God of Moody and Wesley and Wigglesworth and Finney. Yes, I am the God of your ancestors. But I am also your God, and I will do miracles for you. Watch Me send floods to places where rain is not the norm. Look for Me to cut a road in the desert and plant a raging river, evidence to you and to the world that I have never lost My power to act in behalf of My people.

When Isaiah spoke to his people, and they slept and woke the next morning, they were still in exile. When Pastor Richie spoke on Sunday, we may well have gone home to face the same exilic sorrow, lack, and devastation. But God has spoken. We are called to receive His word by faith, even if the manifestation of the promise has not yet come. I pray that His word will encourage our souls today.

“I am the LORD. I am God. I will act.”