Rev. Elizabeth Moreau
Jan 10, 20195 min
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. 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. For I am the Lord your God, the
Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
Isaiah 43:1-3a (ESV)
The New Year has
started, and already, the new has just about worn off. The celebrations are
over. Time off from work is used up. School is in session. Life goes on as it
always has. But should it? Has anyone ever actually succeeded in completing a
New Year’s resolution? Should we just “keep on keepin’ on” as we’ve always
done? I’ve struggled with that question a great deal recently, mostly because
the pathway I am on is not one I particularly like. When life is floating along
as I wish, I seldom worry if I’m headed in the right direction, but maybe I
should. Complacency is the anesthetic that makes possible the meaninglessness
of a comfortable and pleasant living death.
In the passage
above, Isaiah was speaking to the Israelites, proclaiming God’s promise of
redemption and salvation. It was a message the Israelites desperately needed.
When Isaiah spoke this prophecy, the northern kingdom of Israel had already
fallen to Assyria, and the Assyrians were considering Judah in the south for
its next conquest. The Israelites would were defeated and fearful, certain
their God had abandoned them.
It’s revealing that
the Israelites were worried about God’s faithfulness when they themselves had
so often proven to be faithless. Looking at their history, we find periods of
profound faithfulness and devotion, but not as many as we might expect. We also
see periods of disobedience, as well as periods of out and out rebellion
against God. Yet, through the prophet Isaiah, God promises that He has not
abandoned them, He is with them, and He will save them. He has called them by
name.
Remember back in
Genesis when God had Adam name the animals? To name something was to know its
essence. That is why God did not give His name, for He was unknowable, (and
indeed, for all that has been revealed through the centuries, the Triune God
remains a mystery in myriad ways). Think of the richness, the promise, the
comfort of God’s word, “I have called you by name, and you are Mine.” I know you, Israel, from before you were
born, and you belong to Me. How potent that promise would have been in the
face of Assyria’s victory over Israel. You
are Mine, Jacob. You do not belong to Assyria and its king.
My point is this:
the Jews were in a world of hurt that they had brought upon themselves, and in
the midst of that particularly acute form of suffering, God sent the promise
through Isaiah. Assyria may have carried the day by all visible standards – celebrated
military victory, and brought the Jews into slavery under them – but all that
power and might were just props for the drama between God and His people, His
stiff-necked people who so often disobeyed and rebelled.
There is no doubt in
my mind that God has frowned over me and murmured, you, My child, are one stiff-necked woman who fits right in with My stiff-necked
people. Yet, in the face of my disobedience and rebellion, my stiff-necked
determination to have my own way, He knows me. He calls my name and reminds me
that I belong to Him. So it is with all of His children. He knows us. He
unceasingly calls us by name and claims us as His own.
The deep waters of
life are seldom the flood tides that flow over our lands, as traumatic as that
truly is. The deep waters more often are those places to which we wander in
curiosity, perhaps in wanting and desire, that require us to turn away from our
God. Many of the attractions that draw us appear innocuous enough, hardly
dangerous, but as we meander along our way, we begin to realize turbulent
waters are rising, fires are breaking out, and suddenly, we’re wondering, “how
did I get here?”
Russian theologian
Vladimir Lossky (d. 1958) wrote, “In Christ, a man’s life can always begin
afresh, however burdened with sin. A man can always surrender his life to
Christ, so that He may restore it to him, liberated and whole.”
Throughout our
lives, the world invites us to roam and explore and enjoy. When we look up and
discover we’ve been conquered by the Assyrians, lost and far away from Christ,
our God redeems us – buys us back from Assyria – and calls us by name to come
to Him where we belong. Yet again, we begin afresh, the heavy weight of
accumulated sin collected in our ramblings is lifted, and Christ restores us,
not to who we were, but to who He created us to be. He redeems us, liberates
us, and makes us whole, the very thing we thought we’d find when collecting the
illusions and trinkets that pave the path to flood and flame.
The key to the restoration
of which Lossky speaks is surrendering to Christ. The push and pull of our
desires and plans versus surrendering to Christ and dying to self are
exhausting. Too often, only when we know ourselves to be captured by Assyria do
we listen for God to call our name and reassure us that we belong to Him. For
most of us, we only surrender to Christ under the duress of the flood and fire
threatening to overwhelm us. And still, God says, “I have redeemed you and
called you by name; you are Mine. I am your Savior.”
Having looked
backward and assessed the crooked path on which I ambled until lost, the only
feasible choice is to surrender to Christ, however uneasily. In just a few
days, I have failed too many times to count. I want to be set free. I want to
be made whole. I do not want to surrender. It is the human conundrum. I want
Christ – but on my own terms and with little cost to me. If this is you, then
be still and listen. Your God is calling your name. He knows you, knows where
you are, and knows how to restore your life and set you free. Every day, you
have a fresh start in Christ, the opportunity to surrender again. And again.
And again…
We belong to Him.
Thanks be to God!
In Christ –
Elizabeth Moreau
© 2019