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The Bible Breakdown
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The Bible Breakdown
Isaiah 31: Trust Issues
Ever felt let down by people you trusted? Join our latest exploration of Isaiah 31, where we uncover the powerful lessons on trust and divine wisdom that are as relevant today as they were for the ancient Israelites. Through Isaiah's prophetic counsel, we reveal why relying solely on human alliances, like those with Egypt, is often fraught with disappointment. Instead, hear how elevating our expectations of God can offer a steadfast source of protection and strength, surpassing any human-made alliances. This episode promises to shed light on timeless truths that can transform how we view trust in our own lives.
In a heartfelt dialogue, we reflect on the assurance echoed in Isaiah 12:2, celebrating the strength and fearlessness that come from trusting in God. Expressing gratitude for His unwavering presence, we acknowledge the need to release the unrealistic expectations placed on others and recognize the unique roles only God can fulfill. As we wrap up, a warm invitation awaits you for our next journey into Isaiah, chapter 32, where more enlightening insights into scripture's enduring wisdom promise to inspire and guide. Let's deepen our understanding of trust and divine reliance together.
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The More You Dig. The More You Find.
Well, everybody, welcome back to the Bible Breakdown podcast with your host, pastor Brandon. Today, isaiah, chapter 31,. And today's title is Trust Issues. Come on, we need to talk about trust issues. Sometimes trust issues are bad and sometimes, man, they're really really good. It all depends on who you put your trust in right. We're going to get into all that in just a moment, but, as always, if you like what we're doing here, make sure you like, share and subscribe to the YouTube channel and the podcast, make sure you're leaving us a five-star review on the podcast and make sure you're going to the Bible Breakdown Discussion on Facebook. There's an amazing team of people there doing devotions every single day and they're really helping us understand that the more we dig, the more we find, and that's the goal of all of this.
Speaker 1:This is one of those podcasts where we don't get into a lot of different things. We just try to keep it about the Bible and about how to apply the Bible to our life every day. So, if you have your Bible, someone, open up with me to Isaiah, chapter 31. Don't forget, the overall theme of Isaiah is God is our salvation, and what we've been talking about over the past several chapters is that there is just so much going on in the life of the nation of Israel at the time of Isaiah. That reminds me so much of what we're going through today. There's political turmoil, there's social turmoil, there's religious turmoil. There's all these things going on. There's wars and rumors of wars, and people are just confused about what the future holds Just all the things. And Isaiah keeps saying the one thing that can fix this is we have got to return our lives back to God, because if we return our lives to serving God, god can give us the wisdom to fix all of this. But we've got to turn to God first and not to anything else, which leads us to Isaiah, chapter 31. And there's all these different nations that surround Israel, and Israel is, instead of turning to God, they're trying to figure out who I should align myself with. You know, should I go here or go there? And one of the nations that they're constantly trying to align themselves with is the nation of Egypt, and I know that when we're reading through the Bible, we go man, aren't these the ones, just a few books ago, were enslaving them? Well, yes, but this is a long time after that, and so now they're looking back at them and they're trying to create treaties with them, and trying to create treaties with the Pharaoh and all this different kinds of stuff. And Isaiah is warning them you can't put your trust in another nation. We've got to put our trust in God. He's talking about having these trust issues, like you're having problems trusting God but you're wanting to put all your trust in people, and that's the exact opposite way. And so we're going to read this together and then we're going to see what God's word has to say to us today as it relates to the idea of trust issues. If you're ready, here we go.
Speaker 1:Isaiah 31, verse 1, says this what sorrow awaits those who look to Egypt for help, trusting their horses, their chariots, their charioteers and depending on strength of human armies, instead of looking to the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. In his wisdom, the Lord will send great danger. He will not change his mind and he will rise against the wicked and against their helpers, for these Egyptians are mere humans, not God. Their horses are puny flesh, not mighty spirits. When the Lord raises his fist against them, those who help will stumble and those being helped will fall. They will fall down and die together.
Speaker 1:But this is what the Lord has told me. So this is God talking, this is Yahweh talking. When a strong young lion stands growling over a sheep it has killed, it is not frightened by the shouts and noise of a whole crowd of shepherds. In the same way, the Lord of heaven's armies will come down and fight on Mount Zion. The Lord of heaven's armies will hover over Jerusalem and protect it. Like a bird protecting its nest. He will defend and save the city. He will pass over it and rescue it. Like a bird protecting its nest, he will defend and save the city. He will pass over it and rescue it. Though you are such wicked rebels, my people come and return to me. I know the glorious day will come when each of you will throw away the gold idols and silver images your sinful hands have made. The Assyrians will be destroyed, but not by the swords of men. The sword of God will strike them.
Speaker 1:Now, what does this have to say to us today? When they see your battle flags, says the Lord, whose fire burns in Zion, whose flames blaze from Jerusalem. Now, what does this have to say to us today? Now, remember, while the practicals may be different, isaiah, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit is saying listen, don't trust in Egypt, because, see, the thing is, all these other nations are trying to align with each other because the big daddy, assyria, is coming, and so they're trying to figure out who's going to help protect us from the big baddie that's on the way, right? Well, god is saying all of these nations don't like you. They're all ultimately going to be out for themselves. You've got to trust in me, because he said in verse 8, assyria is not going to be destroyed with people. Only I can do this. Well, while those practicals are very specific to the time of Isaiah, the principle is the same, and that is this. And if there's one thing you hear from this chapter, we have to lower our expectations of people and raise our expectations of God.
Speaker 1:I heard someone say one time that the distance between our expectation and then the delivery of that expectation, the distance between that, is the hurt we experience. Let me say that again the distance between our expectation of someone and what they actually deliver, the distance between the two, is the hurt that we experience, for instance, when we first get married. Maybe this isn't your story, but for many people I know, when they first get married, they have this idea that maybe when they were dating they had problems and all of this. But when we get married, somehow saying those vows is going to flip a switch and we're never going to argue again. Right, and everything's going to be wonderful, all of our problems are going to be solved, and the expectation is perfection. Well, I don't know about you. I don't know anybody who's perfect. Everybody has bad breath in the morning. Okay, not you, somebody else, but somebody else has bad breath in the morning. No one's perfect. And so you have this expectation that there's not going to be a problem.
Speaker 1:Well, when the delivery comes and that is that someone's not perfect well, the distance between the two is the amount of hurt that we experience, and that's why, a lot of times, we walk around so hurt by people. It's because we have such high expectations we put people in the place of God for us that they're always going to protect our hearts, they're always going to do what's right, everything's going to be perfect, and all of this. Well, when it turns out that they're human and that they make mistakes and things don't always go the way that we would have hoped, we experience hurt, and I'm not saying that we shouldn't depend on other people. We have to, but what I am saying is is that we should always put people in a position where we allow them to be human, but put our expectation on God, raise our expectation of him, and that's what Isaiah is telling the nation of Israel you keep looking to all the wrong places and all the wrong people to heal you, to save you, to do all the things that only God can do. It's time to turn to God. And even in verse 6, god is saying though you are wicked, I know the day is coming when you're going to return to me. It's going to be a glorious day. You're going to throw away is coming, when you're going to return to me. It's going to be a glorious day. You're going to throw away your idols and you're going to turn to me. And can I tell you that even in this moment, god is thinking that about you, that if you're, if you're, far from God right now or maybe you love God, but you have you have put too much expectation in people that where that they're really in a no-win scenario because you've put them in the place of God in your life, where you're expecting them to answer all your needs and to be everything you need them to be, that God has a big idea for you and it's the overall theme of this book, isaiah, and that is that God is our salvation, that we'll come to him and we'll say God, I am going to put hope in people, I'm going to put hope in people, I'm going to put trust in people, but I'm going to put my ultimate hope and trust in you. I'm going to lower my expectation of people. I'm going to raise my expectation of you, god, and when we do that, that's when healing can come, because we start to realize that hurting people hurt people, and it wasn't that they were bad, it's that they weren't God, and so they were ultimately going to be human. But God is the only one who can truly be worthy of our unending trust. We can put our complete hope in him because he will never let us down, and that, even when we go through bad times, we can trust that if God has led us into these difficult times, it's because he has a plan for us. And so we lower expectations of man and raise our expectation of God.
Speaker 1:I want to ask you this question as we get to end our time together who is someone in your life that you have given unfair expectations to. You've expected them to be perfect. You've expected them to always have the right answer, always perfect. You've expected them to always have the right answer, always to know exactly what to do, always have a good day, never have a bad day, never have a problem because you think well, if they have a bad day, everything's horrible because your expectation is so high for them. What would it look like if you lowered your expectation of them Not your respect, level and honor and all that, but you lower your expectation of them and you raised your expectation of God? What would that look like in your life? And maybe give it a try today.
Speaker 1:Let's pray together. God, thank you so much that you are worthy, that you never have a bad day. You never get nervous, you never get worried. You're always for us in every way. I pray for everyone who is listening or watching this podcast today that you'll bring someone to their mind that they have put in an unfair place because we've tried to put them in the spot that only you can sustain. I pray you'll help us to course correct and let you be the source of our strength today, and we are thankful for that In Jesus' name we pray. Amen, amen. Well, god's word says in Isaiah 12, verse 2, god has come to save me. I will trust in him and not be afraid. The Lord is my strength and my song. He has given me the victory. I love you. I'll see you tomorrow. For Isaiah, chapter 32.
