Isaiah
41:1-29
Our lesson today
takes us to a very practical and important subject: pain. I know of no subject
that has received more unjustified negative commentary than pain. In the book
of Job, we hear from Job’s friend Eliphaz that “man is born for trouble, as
sparks fly upward” [5:7]. Our future in God’s house will be pain free; but our
current world is pain filled. Pain, however, in and of itself, is not a bad
thing. Pain is a gift from God. In a world without sin, it will be unnecessary.
In a world filled with sin, however, it becomes very beneficial.
Pain shouts a
single message: Something is wrong! It is a call for our response. It is a call
for action. It is usually a call for urgency. Once we have identified the cause
of pain and have responded properly, pain loses its God given-purpose. We live,
however, in a world obsessed with pain relief. We seemingly have an aspirin for
everything. Our shortsighted world frequently forgets to investigate fully what
caused the problem or what an impulsive solution might do to the future.
For
example, debt relief is repeatedly offered to those who have secured massive
amounts of credit card debt. Without dealing with the issues that got the
person into credit card debt in the first place, the relief will ultimately be
followed by a repetition of the current problem. The pain of the immediate
should always cause us to investigate the past and be cautious that we do not
sell the future in exchange for the immediate.
Pain and problems are part of this fallen world. When we experience adversity, we need to immediately consider the purpose of our presence on this planet. The purpose of life for the unregenerate is pain-free living. This is part of the great dividing line of humanity. Without Christ, self becomes king, and whatever it takes to make a person happy, that becomes the course of action. For the believer, however, we have a higher purpose. Our pleasure is His pleasure. When God is happy with our life, we are happy. His glory is our high calling. This distinguishes us from those who are driven by self-comfort.
When adversity
strikes, our faith is immediately on trial. Could God prevent the difficulties
that we all go through? The obvious
answer is: Yes. This answer is then followed by the even more obvious question:
Why doesn’t He? And more times than not, that question has no immediate answer.
Thus, we are called to trust and wait.
Pain and suffering
offer an abundant number of blessings beneath their surface. We are required to
bear one another’s burdens. Without pain and suffering, this cannot be done. We
are given opportunity to prove our devotion to the Lord when He allows us to
suffer injustice. Without adversity, we all become fair-weather followers of
Him Who loves us. All negatives in life have a positive side; he who finds it
is a blessed man.
The Purpose of Pain and Problems
Isaiah 41:1-29
INTRODUCTION
Causes of pain & suffering
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
INSTRUCTION
1. Isaiah 41:1-7
Adversity
raises a question we need to answer about life’s purpose:
“Why are we
here?”
A. Results in
B. Results in
2. Isaiah 41:8-20
Adversity
raises a question we need to answer about God’s power:
“Could
this be prevented?”
A. Results in
B. Results in
3. Isaiah 41:21—29
Adversity raises
a question we need to answer about human frailty: “What else can I do?”
A. Results in
B. Results in