Based on a series of sermons preached in PCC Prayer Meetings in 2023-2024
For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee
Isaiah 54:7
Our lives as believers are intertwined. Not only are we called to love one another, but we are also called to be one in Christ. Therefore, the state of the church can sometimes bring us much grief. When the church, for example, becomes apathetic and spiritually inert, ceases to grow, is filled with bickering, or experiences many departures, not only would her leaders but her members be grieved.
Have you had that experience? Have you experienced the heartaches as you prayed for the church, and nothing seemed to change? I have. For this reason, I have a few encouraging verses written on a card on my desk to remind myself that the ministry is not in vain. One of the verses on this card is Isaiah 54:7, “For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee.” But how is this verse encouraging in the situation?
1. Prophecy in Context
First, we should consider its grammatical-historical contexts. This verse does not stand alone. It is part of an amazing prophecy of God’s blessing for God’s people. You may notice that the whole prophecy is directed to a woman or a wife. This woman or wife is, undoubtedly, God’s covenant people. During Isaiah’s days, God’s covenant people would essentially be Judah.
Judah was experiencing a time of declension and distress. They were harassed by Syria and Assyria, and eventually conquered by the Babylonians. This is what the LORD mean when He says through Isaiah, in our text, “I have forsaken thee.”
However, notice that the prophecy does not include any specific historical reference. It’s like its sitz im leben, or setting in life, has been intentionally obscured so as not to limit its contemporary relevance. It is like a timeless song of comfort intended to be used by the church during dark times.
Thus, we may use God’s promise in this text to encourage ourselves in our own situations in the church without fearing that we are taking Scripture out of context. We may be taking it out of context if we seek to apply it to our times of darkness that have nothing to do with the church as a whole, but if our trial is ostensibly intertwined with the sufferings of the church, the promise is for us: “For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee” (Isa 54:7).
2. God’s Forsaking
Our Saviour was, as it were, forsaken by His Father for three hours as He hung on the cross. “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me,” He cried towards the end of those dreary hours. It was part of His humiliation on our behalf. It is also part of the messianic trajectory of humiliation before exaltation that has been appointed for Him and His people. It is a pattern that God’s people have been familiar with. Job, Joseph, Moses, Abraham, David, Daniel and Mordecai all experienced the cycle in broad strokes. The experience made them types of Christ.
Likewise, every faithful believer and church can expect to experience the same trajectory. When, therefore, providence brings us into a valley of shadows and darkness, we are beckoned to take a step back to see that we are not stuck in the darkness but are only experiencing God’s forsaking for a brief moment.
What may seem like an eternity to us while we are smothered in darkness is really a brief moment in God’s plan for our good. Let us, therefore, take heart. The worst thing to do when confronted with trials is to give in to despair and give up trusting the Lord. The devil would have been proven right had Job succumbed to the temptation; the church would not exist had Christ given in to despair.
Let us, therefore, acknowledge the darkness, but remind ourselves that it is but for a brief moment, and that it is sovereignly appointed by the Lord for our good.
3. God’s Gathering
We may argue that the reference to gathering gives us a clue to the sitz im leben of the promise, and limits the application of the promise to similar situations of scattering and regathering.
But notice how the LORD says, “I will gather thee.” Notice the singular. How does a man gather his wife? He embraces her lovingly and assures her of his love. This is what the promise says. Though God would, for a brief moment, forsake His bride, He would, out of His great love towards her, gather her in His loving embrace again. Notice how it is not about how worthy she is, but how loving He is towards her?
Therefore, let us take heart, beloved brethren. We may, for a moment, feel despised, forsaken and unwanted. But let us not be tempted to give up trusting Him. Let us not permit doubt to overwhelm our hearts so as to allow the devil to persuade us that ours is a lost cause.
Post tenebras lux! There will be light after the darkness for God’s people who are sincerely and obediently united to Christ. His Father has promised: “For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee.”
Something great awaits because God’s loving kindness and love towards us is great. It will be worth it all.
Conclusion
Grand plans and attempts for the Lord have often come to nought because of impatience and timidity. Men, women and children have given up when things do not go as planned. Too many have abandoned ship. The result is that the church is in danger of not making advance, and our children and children’s children are in danger of inheriting a half-baked reformation or, worse, the ruins of an incomplete building, not knowing whither we are heading.
Our King ran ahead of us through the cross, and is sat down at the right hand of the throne of God to support us in our own race. May He give us the courage to press on in our labours for His kingdom so that we may become a powerful witness for His great and holy name? Amen.
—JJ Lim