In all their affliction He was afflicted; and the angel of His presence saved them; In His love and His mercy He redeemed them, And He lifted them and carried them all the days of old. Isaiah 63:9
This is one of the most beautiful verses in all the Bible. It is beautiful to me because it reminds me God is not distant from my hurt and heartache. He is intimately involved in my struggles and sorrows. Permit me to make some simple observations about this verse and its truths.
First, the verse looks back to a time of difficulty in the life of God’s people. They were hurting. They were suffering. Was God with them only part of the time? No! He was present in all their affliction.
All is a big word. It is more than I can promise my children and more than you can promise yours. I can’t be involved in alltheir afflictions. I was there to rescue them from as much hurt and heartache as I could. Once, on a daughter’s birthday, I called.I got her answering machine the first time and left this message. “I was there the day you were born, and I am still here today. As long as I am here, I will always love you and be wherever you need me to be whenever you need me. I promise tobe here as long as I can!”
My promises, as sincere as they might be, are limited. My ability to help is limited. My ability to understand is limited. There are hurts and heartaches in the lives of my children that I can’t see. There are times when I am separated by distance and I can’t be there to embrace them or hold their hands. There are times when they choose to suffer in silence because there are things they don’t want me to know.
You don’t know hurt until your children hurt. You don’t know disappointment until you see your children disappointed. Something inside you grieves at what grieves them. Could it be the same with God and His people? This verse says that it is! “In all their affliction He was afflicted…” Isaiah 63:9
I have seen that demonstrated in recent days in the lives of different people. I have seen God prove Himself and His faithfulness in unmistakable ways in the worst of circumstances. God is hurt by what hurts you. God knows the end from the beginning. He knows you will lose a child before the child is ever born. He knows the day you will lose your spouse before you are ever married. He carries that hurt before you do. He carries it in anticipation of the event and how it will hurt you.
He walks with you through the experience when it happens, and He continues when there is no one left to share that hurt but you. For he who touches you touches the apple of His eye. Zechariah 2:8b
In all their affliction He was afflicted, and the angel of His presence saved them; Isaiah 63:9
Don’t miss the great truth revealed here! It doesn’t say God sent an angel. It says that the Angel of His Presence saved them. This is that mysterious figure known as the Angel of the Lord. Whenever He appears in Scripture, it becomes clear that He is a manifestation of God’s own Presence.
When you are in trouble God doesn’t just send somebody. What better illustration of that do we have than the cross? Jesus was not someone God sent to save us. The Bible says God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself. He came into the midst of our suffering, caused by our own sin, and suffered not just with us, but for us.
In all our affliction He was afflicted, and the angel of His presence saved them; In His love and in His mercy He redeemed them…. Isaiah 63:9
Have you ever had a child in trouble? I mean really in trouble. Was it trouble that hurt you emotionally? Was it trouble that hurt you financially? Was it trouble that required the sacrifice of your time, energy, and emotions? How much did it cost you to get them out of trouble? Maybe it only cost you your pride—your ego. Maybe it cost you so much money that you had to take a loan from the bank. In some cases, you couldn’t fix it. You couldn’t solve it. But you would have gone to any length and made any sacrifice to do so!
Why do we take those steps? Why do we make those sacrifices? It was because of your love and your mercy. It was not something they deserved, but you couldn’t turn your back, even though you wanted to hide your face. You did it because you loved them. And if you were able, you rescued them!
How many times do parents redeem the circumstances of their children? In this verse, we have the picture of the vastness of God’s love. It is a love so great that He would go to the pain and expense of the cross to redeem you—to buy you back—to bring you back to Himself.
In all their affliction He was afflicted; and the angel of His presence saved them; In His love and His mercy He redeemed them, And He lifted them and carried them all the days of old. Isaiah 63:9
What a beautiful picture of God stooping to help those that He loves. Is He stooping to help you at this moment? Is He reaching out to you in the midst of your circumstances? Is He reaching out to you to dry the tears from your eyes? How often can we expect the God that we serve to respond in this way? How often did He treat His people that way in the wilderness? All the days of old!
What can I tell you about the God that you serve? Does He care about you? Does He see what’s going on in your life? Does He watch over you? Does He watch you cry? Is He there on your good days? Is He there on your bad days? Will He be there tomorrow? He won’t be there on just some days. The God who has carried you all the days past will carry you through all the days that are future.
Where is God when you hurt! He is there. He was there before you knew the hurt was coming. And He will be there for you for everyday for the rest of eternity!
The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing. Zephaniah 3:17
Photo by Madi Robson
Thanks my Brother. Ritchie.
I appreciate you taking time to view the site. I hope it will be a blessing to those who visit.