Isaiah 54:1-17: a reflection

1“Sing, barren, you who didn’t give birth! Break out into singing, and cry aloud, you who didn’t travail with child! For more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife,” says the LORD. 2“Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch out the curtains of your habitations; don’t spare; lengthen your cords, and strengthen your stakes. 3For you will spread out on the right hand and on the left; and your offspring will possess the nations and settle in desolate cities. 4“Don’t be afraid, for you will not be ashamed. Don’t be confounded, for you will not be disappointed. For you will forget the shame of your youth. You will remember the reproach of your widowhood no more. 5For your Maker is your husband; the LORD of Armies is his name. The Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer. He will be called the God of the whole earth. 6For the LORD has called you as a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit, even a wife of youth, when she is cast off,” says your God. 7“For a small moment I have forsaken you, but I will gather you with great mercies. 8In overflowing wrath I hid my face from you for a moment, but with everlasting loving kindness I will have mercy on you,” says the LORD your Redeemer. 9“For this is like the waters of Noah to me; for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah will no more go over the earth, so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you, nor rebuke you. 10For the mountains may depart, and the hills be removed, but my loving kindness will not depart from you, and my covenant of peace will not be removed,” says the LORD who has mercy on you. 11“You afflicted, tossed with storms, and not comforted, behold, I will set your stones in beautiful colors, and lay your foundations with sapphires. 12I will make your pinnacles of rubies, your gates of sparkling jewels, and all your walls of precious stones. 13All your children will be taught by the LORD, and your children’s peace will be great. 14You will be established in righteousness. You will be far from oppression, for you will not be afraid, and far from terror, for it shall not come near you. 15Behold, they may gather together, but not by me. Whoever gathers together against you will fall because of you. 16“Behold, I have created the blacksmith who fans the coals into flame, and forges a weapon for his work; and I have created the destroyer to destroy. 17No weapon that is formed against you will prevail; and you will condemn every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of the LORD’s servants, and their righteousness is of me,” says the LORD.

To a people who had felt forsaken in their affliction, God speaks words that put their season of suffering in perspective. For a small moment I have forsaken you, he says, but I will gather you with great mercies. In overflowing wrath I hid my face from you for a moment, but with everlasting loving kindness I will have mercy on you. The season of God's apparent absence, the time his face seemed hidden, was a small moment; but the mercy and love with which he would gather them again were everlasting. The brief moment of apparent forsaking was far outweighed by the everlasting kindness that would follow.

Notice the contrast God draws: a small moment of apparent forsaking, and everlasting loving kindness. There had been a season when God's face seemed hidden, when the people felt forsaken; but God calls it a small moment, brief against the everlasting kindness with which he would gather them. And he adds a promise as sure as his oath to Noah: The mountains may depart, and the hills be removed, but my loving kindness will not depart from you. The season of apparent absence was momentary; the love was everlasting, more enduring than the mountains. The brief hiding of his face could not compare with the everlasting kindness that outlasted it.

That contrast is worth taking to heart, for our own seasons of God's apparent absence are brief against his everlasting kindness. We can pass through seasons when God's face seems hidden, when we feel forsaken in our affliction, and these seasons can feel endless; but God calls such a season a small moment against the everlasting kindness that outlasts it. The season of apparent absence, however hard, is brief compared to the everlasting love that will gather us. When you pass through a season of God's apparent absence, feeling forsaken, do not think it the final word; it is a small moment against his everlasting kindness. Take heart in a season of God's apparent absence that it is brief against his everlasting kindness, which will gather you with great mercies and will not depart though the mountains do, as God said he forsook for a small moment but gathers with everlasting love; for the season of apparent forsaking is momentary, and the loving kindness that outlasts it is everlasting, more enduring than the mountains themselves.

Lord, to a people who had felt forsaken in their affliction, you speak words that put their season of suffering in perspective. For a small moment I have forsaken you, you say, but I will gather you with great mercies; in overflowing wrath I hid my face from you for a moment, but with everlasting loving kindness I will have mercy on you. The season of your apparent absence was a small moment; but the mercy and love with which you would gather them again were everlasting. Show me the contrast you draw: a small moment of apparent forsaking, and everlasting loving kindness. There had been a season when your face seemed hidden, when the people felt forsaken; but you call it a small moment, brief against the everlasting kindness with which you would gather them. And you add a promise as sure as your oath to Noah: the mountains may depart, and the hills be removed, but my loving kindness will not depart from you. The season of apparent absence was momentary; the love was everlasting, more enduring than the mountains. Take that contrast to my heart, for my own seasons of your apparent absence are brief against your everlasting kindness. I can pass through seasons when your face seems hidden, when I feel forsaken in my affliction, and these seasons can feel endless; but you call such a season a small moment against the everlasting kindness that outlasts it. When I pass through a season of your apparent absence, feeling forsaken, keep me from thinking it the final word; it is a small moment against your everlasting kindness, Lord. Help me take heart that the season of apparent forsaking is momentary, and your loving kindness that outlasts it is everlasting, more enduring than the mountains.