I've Got to Fix my Problems

I was reading in Isaiah 9 versus 8-17 this morning and got to thinking about the problems that I have in my own life. I don't want to get into my problems in this format, but know, like you I have issues, needs and sometime I find contempt in my situations. The passage says, "The Lord sent a word against Jacob, And it has fallen on Israel. Isa 9:9 All the people will know— Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria— Who say in pride and arrogance of heart: Isa 9:10 “The bricks have fallen down, But we will rebuild with hewn stones; The sycamores are cut down, But we will replace them with cedars.” Isa 9:11 Therefore the LORD shall set up The adversaries of Rezin against him, And spur his enemies on, Isa 9:12 The Syrians before and the Philistines behind; And they shall devour Israel with an open mouth. For all this His anger is not turned away, But His hand is stretched out still. Isa 9:13 For the people do not turn to Him who strikes them, Nor do they seek the LORD of hosts."

When we find ourselves in the middle of the trial, our first inclination is to get out. My first inclination is to fix my problems. You know, sometimes the Lord leads us into the trial. Here in this text, the Lord leads all of Israel into tumult because of their unbelief. Their unbelief caused more problems like poor judgement, idol worship, making agreements with the enemy and just plain stupid decisions. In other words, they dug themselves a deep hole or pit and found themselves stuck. The Lord told them in verse 8 & 9, that the "Word had fallen up Jacob (Israel)" meaning His judgement would soon be upon the entire nation, yes even Judah. But instead of humbling themselves and recognizing that God is God, they sided with themselves and made a declaration, that if "The bricks fall, we will rebuild it with hewn out stone and if the Sycamore falls, we will replant with Cedar". Today, this would be saying, "Whatever is torn down or taken away, we will just replace it with better materials in a stronger way".

Do we really know what we are saying? When I am inundated with issues, I want to fix the issues. Is this really what I want? Why do you think God led Israel into such a deep hole? Why is the Lord leading us into these trials? Is it because He is mad at us? Is it because we have sinned a great sin? Is it because we missed the mark of His glory? Possibly, but what is greater is that now that we have received grace His tendencies is to reveal more of Himself to prove to you His great faithfulness. Some would think that He led you into this pit so you would be by yourself to contemplate your sin or the error of your ways. Some would even venture to say that He expects you to get yourself out of the hole you dug yourself. Is that what He really wants?

Truth is, because of His overwhelming grace and favor upon His own creation, His desire is really not to leave you alone in the pit. Additionally, it's really not to deliver out of the pit and set you on your way. His deep purpose is to jump into the pit with you, so that you are captivated by His presence. Especially if the waters of life rain down upon the pit and begin to fill up and the walls begin to cave in. He jumps in to calm your fears and show you that He will provide peace during this trial. He may want to teach you, through the calm of the trial where you went amiss. He may show you areas in your life where you are not trusting Him. He may even show you that because your overwhelming desire to fix your problems stem from coming to a conclusion that, you actually think you can fix the problem better than He could. Hmmmm! Ask yourself, why do I want to fix the problem? We know deep down that He is God and we acknowledge that His wisdom is far greater than ours, but because His timing does not fit in our schedule, we make assumptions that He just doesn't understand our problems. It's only through intimacy, it's only through Him entering into the pit with you that you can really hear Him speaking these truth's to you.

There is no one who understand your plight more than the One who went to the cross because of your sin! There is no one who understands your trials more than the One who laid down His own life because of your ignorance of the real, One true God, Lord and King of Kings. He doesn't hold this against you. He's forgiven you of this and is zealous and jealous for your time and for your commitment to His truth. So, will you trust Him and will you rest in the acknowledgment that the Father does know best and is faithful to lead you, no matter what life may throw your way?