THE FULL MONTY:
Isaiah 43 To read if you have time to take in the whole story
THE CONTINENTAL OPTION:
Isaiah 43:1-7 Read this if you only have time for a few, key verses
ONE SHOT ESPRESSO:
Isaiah 43:5 ‘Do not be afraid, for I am with you.’
In my younger years I might have thought that a big ‘shazzam’ of God’s spirit and a confession of faith was enough to change everyone forever. But now that I’ve been doing this thing for a while I’ve realised that the journey is a little bit different than that. It’s much more, well, muddy.
I was thinking about this in the middle of a race I just ran called the Tough Mudder. It’s a ten mile obstacle designed by the British special forces. We put a team together and tackled the course – although ‘survived ‘the course might be a more fitting description. It was very true to its name, filled with ‘mud’ and obstacles. At one point you reach the ‘mudflats’; six huge (eight foot) ditches filled with mud. You have to jump into the ditch and then climb out the other side, then repeat six times. Which, alone, is impossible. This of course, is the point of the obstacle; you cannot do the Tough Mudder alone.
You can’t do salvation alone either.
So we jumped and climbed and pulled and pushed our way through that obstacle together. If you need a better description check out Psalm 40. God knows all about hanging out in the mudflats, pushing and pulling his people up and out and through and on.
Back into the mud
Recently a good friend of mine who has come out of an incredibly oppressive life of sexual exploitation went back. She had made the long hard incredible climb out of the muck and the mire – with a lot of help from God and from our community.
So, with love, sweat and tears we all inched her out together, walking with her through the thick and thin.
God doesn’t mind getting muddy to get his peeps out of the pit
Then she jumped back in.
We were brokenhearted and speechless. Breathless might be a more accurate description. We were these things because of what it means for her - the pain, the suffering and self-harm, the abuse and the addiction - but we were also brokenhearted because of all the guts and glory we put into the fight. We laid ourselves out. We sacrificed, pushed and pulled and showed up. We gave a lot of ourselves. And when it all goes wrong, well, it kind of hurts and feels like a big scrape of failure.
During the race I had an epiphany. There was no heavenly music, but right in the middle of the mudflats I thought about the way of salvation. See, to overcome the obstacle you had six mudflats to climb together, not just one. It’s a series of obstacles – slippery, dirty and difficult to climb. As soon as you get over one it’s time to start the next one. The difficult thing about this particular obstacle is not the one ditch but the next one, and then the next one and then the next one. I remember getting half way, thinking about the next half and wondering why I even signed up for this stupid race, how I was going to get through this thing and some other things that are better not to write in this kind of magazine.
They are the exact same things I am thinking when it comes to my friend who is back in the mud. And it’s the exact same thing the Bible talks about all the time as God’s people continue to slide and fall and get stuck at the bottom of life’s mud puddles over and over and over again.
God is right in the midst of us, pushing and pulling and cheering and calling us forward
Another word
Isaiah 43 is the scripture stuck in my mind as it marinates in our lives and community right now. It’s the prophet speaking hope, life and presence to his people. They are at a low point in their lives; stuck in a ditch of oppression and hopelessness, perhaps even despair. To make matters a little worse it’s actually their own fault for not listening to God in the first place. Sound familiar? The prophet starts the chapter with a big ‘but’.
This is the God we serve. The God with the big but… the one who speaks another word even though we land in the muck and the mire, and even though it’s our own fault and even though it’s where we deserve to live - he speaks another word. A better word. He has a plan. A better plan. He knows the way out. Tough Mudder.
He is right there in the thick of it to help us. That’s an amazing God, a God who doesn’t mind getting muddy to get his peeps out of the pit. It goes on to say that God made us and designed us, and the mud and the mire and anyone who puts us in it (including our own selves) are not the designers of our destiny - he is. Wow. ‘You are mine.’ That’s enough to meditate on for a life. That’ll get you through a few ditches. Trust me. God’s got me. Say that ten times slowly. God’s. Got. Me. Life isn’t a highway - it’s a mudflat. Eating disorders, self-harm, pornography addiction and a whole host of other ditches are sucking you and your kids into the mud
Leave no mudder behind
He goes on to tell us some amazing news - it’s not the shiny, glitz, and shazzam of a prayer that lights us up like a Disney movie and leaves us happily ever after. Nope. God’s not a liar. He tells us the truth – there are more ditches coming. This is going to be hard and tough. It’s going to take some time and a heck of a lot of effort. There is going to be fire, and water, and, well, lots of mud and ditches. But here is the point, in verse five, ‘Do not be afraid, for I am with you.’ There’s the secret of the Tough Mudder way of salvation: we are not alone. He is with us. He is right in the midst of us, pushing and pulling and cheering and calling us forward – through every mile and obstacle, and injury and scrape – he is with us in the middle of the muck and the mire, not ever content to leave any mudder behind.
I don’t know what your ditch looks like. All I know is that life isn’t a highway, it’s a mudflat. Eating disorders, self-harm, pornography addiction, sexual exploitation, self-esteem, toxic relationships, and a whole host of other ditches are sucking you and your kids into the mud. But the way of salvation is through the mud. ‘You are mine’, declares the Lord and then he slides on in with you to get the ‘but’ started. He’s got a plan – a better word with a new future. The mud will not define you – just shape you a bit. Consider it a free souvenir.
Run this way of salvation with everything you’ve got. We are going to win. God is with us. Tough Mudder.
Questions
- What does your ditch look like right now?
- How can you posture yourself to rely on God to get you out?
- Who can you be helping up or pushing forward on the way of salvation? A
- re you trying to run this race alone? This will be impossible to do – find some others to help you and to help.
- Have you encountered the God who is with you in the mud? Read Isaiah 43:1-7 slowly and imagine the scene that God is painting: can you imagine God with you?
- Can you hear God’s words speaking life to you? Cheering you on?
