Today, this day to commemorate stories past and stories to come, I invite you into this reflection on Isaiah 43 and YOUR story:
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.
I give Egypt as your ransom,
Cush and Seba in exchange for you.
Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you,
I give men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life.
“Fear not, for I am with you;
I will bring your offspring from the east,
and from the west I will gather you.
I will say to the north, Give up,
and to the south, Do not withhold,
bring my sons from afar
and my daughters from the end of the earth,
everyone who is called by my name,
whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made.
Isaiah 43:1-7
I confess. I did it again. Or rather, I didn’t do it again. I dropped the ball on watching the ball drop. Instead I got up for the dawning of the day celebration. Though I do this yearly, I never understand why there aren’t more people here to watch and welcome the New Year coming in on a dark wintry morning.
I’m a dork — my New Year’s Eve tradition involves going to bed by 9:30 or 10, waking up at midnight when I hear the fireworks, saying “Happy New Year” to my husband who is snoring beside me, and getting up by 5:30, to spend some quiet time reflecting on the year we just passed through and the year ahead. Reading through the journal where I wish I’d recorded more, I remember the hard moments, the hopeful moments. Thinking of Isaiah 43:2, I ask, “When did I think I was going to drown? What kept the rivers from overwhelming me? When did I live without fear, and why? What wildfires walked through threatened to destroy us?” What the stories of the past year reveal every year is a stunning truth: not only did we survive –we thrived! We grew – more like the God who not only created us but continues to re-create us!
I also see a whole cast of characters in the stories, real bold-hearted sinner-saints who spoke encouragement and truth into the midst of my fears and sins. There is a friend who rescued me when I was drowning in a sea of burdens I had taken on that were not my own to carry. Oh, and here is a friend who gently called my name, reminding me I am not the moron I was pretending to be at the moment, but indeed, Elizabeth, a woman shaped and formed and redeemed by God. Here are friends who prayed for my children when they were hurting or in trouble. No wonder the flame did not consume us.
My unedited journal writing also reveals how angry and demanding my heart can be in my worst moments. The sometimes harsh words recorded there draw me to an even greater wonder at God’s words to me: “Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you, I give men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life.” (Isaiah 43:4) What is more or at least as amazing as that is to realize that ultimately God gave not “men” but “a man,” the sinless Son “in exchange for” (v. 3) me!
My review of the past year reveals two clear themes: I have family and friends who have lived the gospel into my life; I have a God who has delivered me through Christ’s sacrifice for me. As I turn my thoughts to the coming year, what do I feel? One would think some possible answers might be, “hope,” “confidence,” “excitement”. If it were not for the words Isaiah writes in verse 5, I would feel ashamed. The fact is, as I think of some of the possibilities this New Year holds, I feel – fear.
But Isaiah has an answer for me: “Fear not, for I am with you…/I will bring your offspring from the east,/and from the west I will gather you./ I will say to the north, Give up,/and to the south, Do not withhold,/bring my sons from afar/and my daughters from the end of the earth,/everyone who is called by my name,/whom I created for my glory,/whom I formed and made.” (43:6-7) Though these words are written to the Israelites enduring the Babylonian exile, Isaiah is speaking of far more than the return the Israelites will ultimately experience. Here is the “word of the Lord” to me, to us, in these astonishing verses: whatever you face, whether it is exile or loss or poverty or a new job, a fresh start, or deepening relationships, God is doing and will do a brand new thing in your life – this year and for the rest of your days. And one day, at the end of all new years that will be the beginning of The New Era, we will all be gathered together, and every single one of us, sons and daughters, to the ends of the earth, everyone called by God’s name and created and formed for His glory will draw together to worship. In that day there will be no more flames, no more fears, no more waters, no more tears. And Elizabeth Turnage will even stay up past 9:30 to watch this New Era come in!
Some questions to ponder:
- As you remember the past year of your life, what flames and waters did you survive? Can you see evidence of growth and new life that came out of any of these apparent threats to your life?
- In the past year, what characters in your life were carriers of the gospel? Make sure you thank God (and them) for their ministry.
- As you look at the new year, what fears do you have? What hopes do you have? Read all of Isaiah 43 and imagine what new things God might do in you through the stories to come.