Expectations

In a sense this morning’s text belongs in the Psalms. It is a prayer offered up by a soul that is in pain. Isaiah is seeking relief. He looks to his God, but he does so with questions and confusion. Here, we get to take a look not only into Isaiah’s soul but also into the nature of his relationship with his God. Here, we listen in on a heart-to-heart conversation, one with real questions and sometimes blunt statements, the kind of things that friends can say without fear of offending or having to apologize. This is honest prayer.

As I mentioned last week, the end of chapter 63 is more closely related to chapter 64 than to the rest of chapter 63. So, I will begin reading at verse 15 of chapter 63 and continue to the end of chapter 64. Please listen as I read.

The tone of this prayer is clear. Isaiah is struggling. And why? For one thing, he faces troubles. The nations are oppressing him and his fellow Israelites. But the reason why he struggles goes beyond the fact that there are oppressors. Isaiah struggles because of his God. He has expectations of God, expectations that he thinks should be met, expectations that are not being met. And this is what we hear in his prayer. Isaiah is confused because he expects things of God. He expects God to act. But God is not acting.

Should Isaiah have these expectations? It needs to be said that if he didn’t have them, dealing with the problems that he faces would be, in one sense, easier. Encountering problems of this sort would be simpler. Life would be less confusing. It would just be a matter of telling himself that life is hard, and he just needs to deal with it. That would be pretty clear cut. It’s those expectations that make things confusing and more difficult. It’s those expectations that cause him to ask, ‘LORD, what is going on? Why are you doing this? What don’t you act?’ I think that we can say that having expectations of God makes life more complicated for Isaiah.

There are so many who have lower expectations. The god they worship, of whatever sort they imagine him to be, doesn’t promise much of anything. He’s off in a corner for most of life, not doing much, not expected to do much, not really. These folk understand that dealing with life with its ups and downs and all the surprises – it’s up to them to deal with it. It’s hard, sometimes especially so, but it’s not confusing. So, the problems are more limited. There’s only one layer to deal with, the problem that is facing them. These folk my pray some, but its pro forma, the appropriate religious thing to do. But it’s prayer without expectations. Their god does not disappoint them or confuse them. Issues are straightforward. Whatever happens, you’re on your own. It’s really is simpler that way.

So, is that a good option for us to consider? Should we expect less of God? There is, for some, a certain appeal in doing that. Some would say that it’s being more realistic. But it needs to be said that there is a good reason why we have higher expectations. It’s God’s ‘fault’, if I can put it that way. It is God who creates the higher expectations. The God that Isaiah is dealing with, your God, is not an off-in-the-corner-doing-nothing kind of God. He is the God who promises to act. He has kept that promise by acting in the past. Isaiah knows this God. He has seen Him act. And that’s why he has expectations. That’s why he asks, ‘Where are your zeal and your might? The stirring of your inner parts and your compassion are held back from me.’ Isaiah expects these things – the zeal and might and compassion – not because he dreamed them up. Isaiah expects these things because God taught him to expect them. He has been taught to expect these things, and that’s why he is confused when they don’t happen.

So, God makes promises to us and calls us to look to Him to keep these promises. He wants us to have expectations of Him. But, then, He does not always act in ways that match our expectations. He sometimes, oftentimes, does things differently. And that leads to confusion.

There are a few twists and turns here. Consider: Isaiah has expectations. He expects God to act with zeal and might. But he also expects God to do the unexpected. ‘When you did awesome things that we did not look for, you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence.’ What’s this? Here, Isaiah is remembering the history of his people. He’s thinking about what happened when Israel left Egypt and Moses led them to Mt. Sinai. That’s where God came down to the mountain in thunder and lightning and fire, a thick cloud and the blaring of a trumpet. They did not ask for this or expect it, but it happened. God did the unexpected, and it was very impressive. He acted and met with His people. And He did it in ways that revealed His zeal and might, and the compassion that He had for Israel. So, Isaiah wants Him to do it again. ‘Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might quake at your presence…’ He wants God to act in powerful ways. He wants God to act in ways that are outside the box. He expects God to do the unexpected.

Those who have low expectations of their god, some off-in-the-corner god, cannot ask for this. These believe in a tame god, a god who offers nothing, a god of whom they have no expectations. But Isaiah can ask for this. And so can you. And that’s why the Church has praised Him with these words of Paul, ‘Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think …’ But it is a package deal. We can ask the unexpected of our God, we can ask Him to surprise us by His zeal and might. But we can do that only if we understand what else this includes: in surprising us by doing the unexpected He will sometimes confuse us. Sometimes, He will surprise us by not showing His zeal and might when we expect it.

Isaiah poses several questions. Let’s look at one now. ‘O LORD, why do you make us wander from your ways and harden our heart, so that we fear you not?’ Questions in the Bible are quite fascinating. They aren’t always straightforward. In this, the Bible really does reflect life. Asking a question doesn’t necessarily mean that you are looking for an answer. God never asks a question because He doesn’t know the answer. ‘Adam, where are you?’ ‘Who do men say that I am?’ In neither case was the question asked in order to get an answer. Something else was going on.

This is not something limited to deity. We do the same kind of thing. This is from Psalm 42. ‘Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?’ This is an odd question to ask if gaining information is the goal. The rest of the Psalm is filled with reasons why the Psalmist’s soul is downcast. Here’s one: ‘My tears have been my food day and night, while they say to me all the day long, “Where is your God?”’ The question of the Psalm is not about gaining information for a good answer. It’s a way to move to a solution. Psalm 42 is another expression of confusion. But the question the Psalmist poses leads to a resolution of the confusion. Listen again in a larger context. ‘Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.’ The Psalmist rouses himself to be hopeful. He looks forward to the day of greater clarity. That, after all, is why God brings us into confusion; that we might gain greater clarity about who He is. We are all too content to know just a little bit of God. Fortunately, He is not.

This helps us to understand what Isaiah is doing. ‘O LORD, why do you make us wander from your ways and harden our heart, so that we fear you not?’ Why does God cause this wandering and failure to fear? The answer is no big secret. We saw it back in chapter 6 when Isaiah was commissioned. Do you remember what Jesus said then? ‘Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.’ Jesus pronounces a curse on His people. Isaiah knows this. But he still asks the question. He does that because it points to an answer. Listen again this time to the complete thought. ‘O LORD, why do you make us wander from your ways and harden our heart, so that we fear you not? Return for the sake of your servants, the tribes of your heritage.’ This is the route to greater clarity. ‘LORD, You can change all of this. Return to us. Remove your curse and bless us.’ So, you see, Isaiah’s question is actually about hope. Isaiah is not in despair. He is confused and struggling, but there is a note of hope. There is hope in God. Isaiah knows that and clings to it as he struggles on.

Is this hope in Isaiah just wishful thinking? Absolutely not! He has good reason to hope. Notice what he wrote. ‘For you are our Father, though Abraham does not know us, and Israel does not acknowledge us; you, O LORD, are our Father, our Redeemer from of old is your name.’ Who is this God? He is Father and Redeemer. There is hope for Isaiah not because he wishes it so, but because of the expectations that his God has encouraged. There is hope because this God has given Himself to Isaiah and the rest of Israel as a Father and a Redeemer. These are promises of the covenant, God’s promises. These are promises that encourage hope.

Let’s be careful here. Isaiah does not lean on hope at the expense of ignoring sin. He is quite clear that there is plenty of sin. Listen: ‘You meet him who joyfully works righteousness, those who remember you in your ways. Behold, you were angry, and we sinned; in our sins we have been a long time, and shall we be saved? We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. There is no one who calls upon your name, who rouses himself to take hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us, and have made us melt in the hand of our iniquities.’ Isaiah starts with some of the things that the people of God are supposed to do. They are to do what is right and that are to do it not as drudge duty but joyfully. They are to take hold of God. This is about serious prayer. But these things are not happening. Sin. Then, there are the various ways in which the sins of the people have polluted them, and that before a pure God. The results are obvious. The people are dying like a fallen leaf that is drying up and soon to be swept away by the wind. Isaiah is quite clear. There is sin. He does not minimize sin. But he still calls out in hope. ‘Be not so terribly angry, O LORD, and remember not iniquity forever. Behold, please look, we are all your people.’ He appeals to the covenant promises granted to the people of God, that God will not remember their sins. He does this because he has expectations of God, expectations that God called for.

Now, by the time we get to the end of the chapter, the end of the prayer, we’re programmed to expect a resolution. And that’s what happens so often in the Psalms. So, in Psalm 13 the first part is all about troubles and confusion. ‘How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?’ But by the time we get to the end of that Psalm the situation is resolved. ‘But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the LORD, because he has dealt bountifully with me.’ Problem solved. There is closure. We like that. ‘And they lived happily ever after.’ And that becomes an expectation. But there is no closure at the end of Isaiah’s prayer. There are only questions. ‘Will you restrain yourself at these things, O LORD? Will you keep silent, and afflict us so terribly?’ Questions but no answers. And it is good that Isaiah ends this way. I say that not because there are no answers. There are. But it’s good for you to be reminded that when life gets more difficult and prayer gets more real, oftentimes when you finish your prayers there is still confusion. Often, the questions remain; and so does the pain. It is good for Isaiah to end the chapter this way to remind you that complete resolution will not occur in this life. There is a great measure of healing to be enjoyed in this life. But complete resolution, complete healing, awaits. We have not yet gotten to the ‘happily ever after’ part. And it is so helpful if your remember this. There will be more clarity. And there will be more joy. But life will be hard. God will be confusing. But not always and not forever.

And Isaiah knows this also. ‘From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides you, who acts for those who wait for him.’ We wait for our God to act. He will, you know. We can expect Him to act for us. He will show His zeal and His might. The questions at the end of the chapter will be answered. In fact, we already know the answers. We know the answers because Jesus has come. He has not restrained Himself. He is not silent. And the affliction that comes to us from His hand is not punishment but loving discipline. We know these things. It’s the Gospel. So, like Isaiah, though confused at times, we live in a hope that trusts our God. Jesus said, ‘Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.’ Jesus has come to be our Savior, and we have believed Him. Because He has come, God is our Father, a Father with zeal and might and compassion. And we have a Redeemer who rescues us from all of our sin. And we can – and should – expect much of our God. There will still be confusion, but we will meet it with a hope that believes the Gospel.

And then, Jesus will return. That’s when there will be no confusion; none at all. And the only questions that we will have will be the ones that pop up as we explore the depths of the being of God. These will not be questions of confusion but questions that are expressions of fascination and wonder, questions of joy and happiness. These will be question that will expect answers. And there will be lots of answers.

In the meantime, even in the midst of confusion, we, like Isaiah, continue to follow Jesus, waiting for Him to act, and repeating from time to time, ‘Yes, LORD, I trust You, even now.’