Hardest thing

Hardest thing

SUNDAY 18^THJULY, 1999.

BIBLE READING: ISAIAH 40:25-31

CAPTAIN ALISTAIR VENTER

INTRODUCTION:

Yesterday was Lauren’s birthday, and she turned 6 – and let me tell you, that is quite a milestone in a little girl’s life. I got to think about a little thing that for Lauren seemed the hardest thing to do – it was to be able to ride a bicycle. She finally agreed that I should take off her side wheels from her bike – which I did. So started Daddy’s exercise – up and down the drive way – time after time after time. The minute I would let go of her, she would fall – and eventually she never asked to ride her bike again. It was just too hard to do! She became so discouraged, and made up her mind that she would never be able to ride a bike! Two or three months past – and daddy put the side wheels on again – and she was able to ride. Eventually her and I took the plunge again. I suggested that we go to the park, remove the side wheels, and we would teach her how to ride. Well, what was the hardest thing for my little girl to do – she managed to do. But there were three things that she had to do in order to do such a hard thing. She had to be Positive, she had to be patient, and she had to be persistent. And persistent she was. If you had seen that little girl’s legs after all the falls and the pedals biting into the backs of her legs as she tried to stop herself. But for her, the hardest thing was accomplished – and man, she was a different child!

What is the hardest thing for you and I to do when we are discouraged? I want to tell you that we all face times of discouragement. Set-backs seem to come to all of us. It may be road blocks to our plans, it may be opposition from hostile people, it may be health problems, it may be finances, it may be our job – it could be a host of things which cause us to be so discouraged and down. One of the hardest things to do in such a situation is:

TO BE POSITIVE:

The children of Israel were drawing to the end of their exile in Babylon – although of course they did not know this. But they were terrible negative about their plight, their situation. They were despondent, secretly despairing people. It almost seemed like everything that could have gone wrong, had gone wrong for them! God, through the prophet Isaiah, had some very valuable things to point out to his people – as He does to us today as well.

He says to us – LOOK AT THE TASKS I HAVE DONE! He says in Isaiah 40:12 "Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket or weighed the mountains on the scales and hills in a balance?" God kind of says; "Are you wise enough and mighty enough to do things like that?" He is – and that is the God we serve.

He says to us – LOOK NOW AT THE NATIONS! The Children of Israel had been terrified of the great national powers – Assyria, Egypt and Babylon. God says in vs 15 "The nations are like a drop in a bucket, they are regarded as dust on the scales". We have things that really frighten us, situations that seem bigger than us, and we really feel so weak. But God is so much bigger than the nations, he is so much bigger than our greatest fear. That is the God whom we serve.

He says to us – LOOK NEXT AT THE WORLD! Look at how big the world is, all the detail, all the immensity. There are something like five thousand million people who populate the world. The world is so big, I am so small. But if you think that the world is big – do you know how big God is? Verse 22 says: He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers!" One of the Psalms tells us that the earth is like a footstool for God. That is the God whom we serve!

He says to us – LOOK AT THE WORLD’S GREAT ONES! We often think that the rulers, the governors, the guys who make the laws and try to dictate how we may or may not live, are in control. We sometimes hold some of these leaders in awe. But vs 23 says: "He brings princes to naught, and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing". That is the God whom we serve.

He says to us – LOOK AT THE STARS! I love getting away from the city lights and getting to a place where I can look up to the sky and see all the stars shining at night. I don’t know about you, but it kind of puts me in my place. I am overawed with their beauty, their size, how that hand in space. God says through Isaiah in vs 26: "Who created all these?" It is the God whom we serve!

In response to the negative whining of the Children of Israel, God says: "Don’t you know or have you forgotten that I made the universe and nothing is beyond my knowledge, skill or power?" The hardest thing to do is to be positive when we are discouraged.

Sometimes when we get into hard times, we get negative about God, about life, about the future? I know what I am talking about – I’ve been there. We find ourselves saying things like:

God does not know what is happening to me.
God does not care about what is happening to me.
God is not able to do anything about what is happening to me.

Someone once said that there are 5 "isms" that we need to avoid like the spiritual plague, and we would do well to note them. He says we must avoid:

Pessimism: "I can’t do it! God can’t do it! Nobody can do it!"

Defeatism: "It’s hopeless! I’ve lost! It’s over. There’s no use of trying anymore!"

Criticism: "If I were running this universe, there’d be some radical changes, you can bet on it. I’d do better than God is doing!"

Cynicism: "Life is a bummer! Nothing goes right for me! Everybody else gets the breaks!"

Skepticism: "I just don’t believe! I can’t trust God anymore! He isn’t there for me!"

In my office someone has put up a little caption that reads: "Stop telling God how big your problem is, and start telling your problem how big God is!" As hard as it might be for you and for me, remember the God whom we serve – trust in Him, and that will enable you to be positive in your attitude to your present situation.

Secondly, one of the hardest things for us to do when we are discouraged is:

TO BE PATIENT:

I am sure you have heard of the Christian who said: "I want patience – just hurry up and give it to me!" Many of us kind of feel like that. The story is told of a little girl who came crying to her daddy and said: "My garden died" He went to see, and sure enough, all the plants were withered and brown. Turning to her he asked; "What did you do?" She said very tearfully: "I pulled on the plants to make them grow faster and my garden died!"

The Jews to whom God was speaking seemed to be unable to wait and they wanted their justice there and then. They wanted God’s immediate reply and deliverance. But God told them they needed a spirit of patience. He said in verse 31 " Those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength!"

Somehow, God is never too late – but he is never early either. He somehow manages to build our character by making us wait and be patient. The psalmist is one who really battled with this idea of waiting – there were times when he seemed to have no patience. He said in Psalm 13:1 "How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?" Yet, in other times, the Psalmist seemed to have so much advice, which he obviously learnt along the way. Listen to what he says in some of the psalms:

Psalm 27:14 "Wait for the Lord; Be strong, and let your heart take courage. Yes, wait for the Lord"

Psalm 37:7 "Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes"

Psalm 37:34 "Wait for the Lord and keep his way. He will exhalt you to inherit the land; when the wicked are cut off, you will see it"

Psalm 62:5 "My soul, wait in silence for God only, for my hope is from Him".

I spoke on a funeral in Friday on Isaiah 40, and I spoke of the need for the bereaved to wait on the Lord, to be patient. But it applies to each and every one of us. We must carry out one of the hardest things in our difficult circumstances – we must be patient.

Thirdly, one of the hardest things for us to do when we are discouraged is:

TO BE PERSISTENT:

"Those who wait on the Lord, who hope in the Lord, will have their strength renewed, they will soar on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint". That sounds such a wonderful prospect, doesn’t it, when we feel discouraged and down. The children of Israel had been scattered from their land, they had been taken to a foreign land, amongst a foreign, foreign gods, families had been split up. I guess that they felt they could not walk, never mind run or fly. But God’s word came to them as it does to us that in spite of all that seemed to be happening, they needed to be persistent, not to quit!

When Paul was in prison, he was able to say: "I can do all things through him who strengthens me!" (Phil 4:13) Peter was able to say: "After you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you!" (1 Peter5:10)

Is it possible, you might ask me, to be persistent in such difficult situations? My answer to you is YES, for God has not left us without resources.

He has given Scripture to guide and inspire us! "For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope!" (Romans 15:4)

He has given His Holy Spirit to enable us. "Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world!" (1 John 4:4)

He has limited the amount of temptation that can come to us. "God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it" (1 Cor 10:13)

He provides access to His throne in prayer. "Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:16)

He has given us other Christians to help, admonish and encourage us. Hebrews 10: 25 says "Let’s see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out, not avoiding worshipping together as some do, but spurring each other on, especially as we see the big Day approaching".

CONCLUSION:

I am asking you this morning to do the hardest thing that you have ever had to do! In your situation, you need to be positive – focusing on the God whom we serve. You need to be patient, even although all of you cries out for immediate solutions. You need to be persistent – no quitting, but using the resources that God has placed at your and my disposal.

Maybe this morning you need help in doing the hardest thing of your life – and you might find strength in coming and kneeling before God at this place prayer. Remember I told you about Lauren who was a different child after she was able to do the hardest thing for her. You can walk out of this church today a different person as you are obedient to God’s instruction this morning to be positive, patient and persistent!