Understanding Our Trials

Introduction

Tell the story of Hezekiah as a recap and intro to the Poem of Isaiah 38.

His father did not follow the Lord, desecrated the temple, worshipped false gods

Hezekiah cleansed the temple, removed all the false gods and altars that his father and previous kings had placed in the temple grounds

Hezekiah noted as the best king of Judah

Hezekiah then cleansed Jerusalem and Judah

held the passover celebration

invited jews that were left in the northern kingdom after the Assyrians had defeated the north

the celebration lasted two weeks instead of one

as the people went home they cleansed the land, Judah and Israel (northern kingdom) of the false gods that they had started worshipping

Last week - Assyrians had defeated many of the places in Judah and are at the door step of Jerusalem

Meeting of the leaders of both sides, with the Assyrians attempting to get Hezekiah and his people to surrender

we looked at the different strategies of the enemy

Make you feel weak, like you have no chance

Sprinkle in a little truth

tell you the truth is a lie

promise you prosperity

This week… Understanding our Trials

Hezekiah is told that he is going to die

many people have heard this from doctors

you may have heard this with a loved one, you have a certain amount of time

this was not from a doctor, but a prophet

the king was sick, the prophet Isaiah came to him and told him, the Lord says get your house in order, this will end in death

Hezekiah begs the Lord for more time and the Lord grants his request

miraculous sign was given so that he knew

the shadow went backwards ten steps… how?

did God reverse time? did he change the shadow?

we do not know, it does not say, but Hezekiah is promised 15 more years

after this trial, Hezekiah writes a poem or psalm

that is what we will look at today…

it is written in the pattern of a lament that is found in many places in scripture

Biblical lament emerges as a multifaceted expression of suffering that combines honest complaint, protest, and hope. Rather than passive resignation, lament functions as an act of protest—what scholars call a “spirituality of protest”1—where believers voice their deepest pain before God without pretense.

What is a trial?

The Tony Evans Bible Commentary The Essentials of Spiritual Growth

Scripturally, a trial comes as an adverse set of circumstances in your life, either permitted or created by God, to develop you spiritually.

It is not the result of sin…

When you are in the consequences of your sin you do not rejoice because it is growing your faith

many believe that this trial in Hezekiah’s life took place before the events we looked at last week

leading into the standoff with the Assyrians he was told his illness would end in death, God healed him and gave him the sign

Trials are no evidence of being without God, since trials come from God!

Charles Spurgeon

Isaiah 38:9–21 CSB

9 A poem by King Hezekiah of Judah after he had been sick and had recovered from his illness: 10 I said: In the prime of my life I must go to the gates of Sheol; I am deprived of the rest of my years. 11 I said: I will never see the Lord, the Lord in the land of the living; I will not look on humanity any longer with the inhabitants of what is passing away. 12 My dwelling is plucked up and removed from me like a shepherd’s tent. I have rolled up my life like a weaver; he cuts me off from the loom. By nightfall you make an end of me. 13 I thought until the morning: He will break all my bones like a lion. By nightfall you make an end of me. 14 I chirp like a swallow or a crane; I moan like a dove. My eyes grow weak looking upward. Lord, I am oppressed; support me. 15 What can I say? He has spoken to me, and he himself has done it. I walk along slowly all my years because of the bitterness of my soul. 16 Lord, by such things people live, and in every one of them my spirit finds life; you have restored me to health and let me live. 17 Indeed, it was for my own well-being that I had such intense bitterness; but your love has delivered me from the Pit of destruction, for you have thrown all my sins behind your back. 18 For Sheol cannot thank you; Death cannot praise you. Those who go down to the Pit cannot hope for your faithfulness. 19 The living, only the living can thank you, as I do today; a father will make your faithfulness known to children. 20 The Lord is ready to save me; we will play stringed instruments all the days of our lives at the house of the Lord. 21 Now Isaiah had said, “Let them take a lump of pressed figs and apply it to his infected skin, so that he may recover.”

In God’s providence - By His authority to rule (sovereignty) He uses all things for His purpose and glory. Through our trials we run to him. Then we are prepared for bigger hardships in life.

Today we will look at four questions that we must ask when going through trials so that we may learn to stand in the next bigger trial.

What Am I Going Through?

Sometimes we think we know what is wrong with us but we only know the symptoms

gallbladder tried to kill me

severe stomach pain, back pain, vomiting

Heather does not mother me…

she did not say with a sympathetic voice…

she might have in the first few months, but this had gone on long enough

lets go to the emergency room… I am not going and saying I have a stomach ache… okay the doctors office opens in seven hours we will call them then

We try to mask our pain with flowery prayers

not so when we lament…

God does not need our words prayers… he does not require certain language or word counts to gain his attention

Isaiah 38:10–13 CSB

10 I said: In the prime of my life I must go to the gates of Sheol; I am deprived of the rest of my years. 11 I said: I will never see the Lord, the Lord in the land of the living; I will not look on humanity any longer with the inhabitants of what is passing away. 12 My dwelling is plucked up and removed from me like a shepherd’s tent. I have rolled up my life like a weaver; he cuts me off from the loom. By nightfall you make an end of me. 13 I thought until the morning: He will break all my bones like a lion. By nightfall you make an end of me.

Name the trial

plainly state to the Lord what the trial is

too often we are taking the symptoms to the Lord and asking him to remove those

take away the stomach pain… the back pain… when those are pointing to something much bigger

was it that Hezekiah was going to die?

we are all heading in that direction at some point

Hezekiah said he was in the prime of his life… most believe he was 39

then we begin to realize that he is omniscient

when we truly begin to take things to the Lord we realize he already knows

this does not stop us from talking, it frees us up to really go deeper

I do not have to hide my feelings about this

I do not have to just give him the symptoms

It is not just that I am dying, but you are taking me out in the prime of my life

Express how you feel in it

I am mad… I am cut down in the prime of my life

I have cleansed the temple… I have celebrated the passover for the first time in many generations… and you are taking me out in the prime of my life!

let it all out… Even if you think that it leads to blaming him

He can take it

in our accusation we often will see our true problem

When we let it out… get to the true problem or event then we can begin to lean on him to get us through the trial

Have I Asked the Lord for Help?

We try everything in our own strength first

we show our pride

I am tough enough to get through it…

I am not going to the ER for a stomach ache

I will pull myself up by my bootstraps and get through it

God helps those who help themselves… found nowhere in the Bible

instead the Bible calls us to walk humbly before our God

shows who we really trust

My call with Andrea after my gallbladder problem

Isaiah 38:14–16 CSB

14 I chirp like a swallow or a crane; I moan like a dove. My eyes grow weak looking upward. Lord, I am oppressed; support me. 15 What can I say? He has spoken to me, and he himself has done it. I walk along slowly all my years because of the bitterness of my soul. 16 Lord, by such things people live, and in every one of them my spirit finds life; you have restored me to health and let me live.

Hezekiah constantly chirped like a bird

have you sat and listened to the birds in the morning

it is nonstop noise… chirp chirp chirp…

you might think that sounds annoying or that it might be an annoying thing to the Lord

He delights when his children come to him

in our trials, we learn to come to him, rely on him and then we grown in him

but it is not simply talking

often we are talking so much we do not take time to listen

in this case… through the chirping he hears from the Lord that this has been sent by the Lord

He has no other option but to trust

be my security… my refuge

v16 is not a statement as much as a request

Lord, be my refuge, restore my life

What Has the Lord Revealed to Me?

I always hated the phrase, “this is for your own good,” when I was growing up

it always meant that I had to do or receive something that was not going to feel good

It is for your own good that I punish you… make you do something that you do not want to do…

it was for my good that they removed my gallbladder even though in the moment I had to go through more pain

although I was in enough pain I was to the point of, just do what you have to do

my gallbladder had revealed some other issues that I did not know I had

like having one kidney

remember what a trial is

The Tony Evans Bible Commentary The Essentials of Spiritual Growth

Scripturally, a trial comes as

Isaiah 38:17–19 CSB

17 Indeed, it was for my own well-being that I had such intense bitterness; but your love has delivered me from the Pit of destruction, for you have thrown all my sins behind your back. 18 For Sheol cannot thank you; Death cannot praise you. Those who go down to the Pit cannot hope for your faithfulness. 19 The living, only the living can thank you, as I do today; a father will make your faithfulness known to children.

Pride is an ugly thing… it sneaks up on the best of us because as soon as you begin to believe you do not have a problem with pride it is right there

I would imagine it would be easy for a king to get puffed up

especially when you have done some of the things that Hezekiah has done

I have restored the temple

I have restored the sacrifices

I have brought the people from the north back to Jerusalem

I have…

It is easy for us to get to this as well

we begin to list our accomplishments as if the Lord is supposed to be impressed by them

At a conference this last week I heard a young pastor say in disappointment that one of the speakers simply talked about the gospel… as if we pastors needed to hear something deeper and more profound

so often in our trials the Lord reminds us of the basic truth

I have saved your soul (hid your sins behind my back)

the gospel is much more profound than that yet at the same time that simple

Give the gospel

the Lord himself has taken our sin, paid the penalty of them so that we who have put our trust in him will not face the wrath we deserve, but have life in him

he sees us as righteous… as if our sins are simply hidden behind his back, he cannot see them anymore

Trials have a great way of getting us back to the basics of the gospel

but it is here that we remember just how much we can trust our Lord

if I can trust him with my soul, if he has been faithful to the cross, there is nothing in my life that I cannot trust him with

telling your story

making his faithfulness known to the children

What do I Need to do Now?

After my gallbladder I had a list of things to do…

I did them, for a while

Isaiah 38:20 CSB

20 The Lord is ready to save me; we will play stringed instruments all the days of our lives at the house of the Lord.

Praise him for the rescue in current trial

James 1:2–3 CSB

2 Consider it a great joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance.

Praise him for the growth in your faith so that you can trust him in deeper trials in the future

“I have watched others, in far deeper trials, testify to the same truth: that it is in trials that the Christian is formed, and in trials that we find the greatest blessings. So when we shun trials, we miss blessings.” Alster Begg

Conclusion

Much greater trial was coming for Hezekiah

this happened before the Assyrians were attempting to take over Jerusalem that we looked at last week

I think that we can agree, once you have come back from death, what could the Assyrians possibly to do you

James 1:2–4 CSB

2 Consider it a great joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.