Words for the Hasty of Heart | Isaiah 35:4 | Mark Stirling

I'm particularly interested in how the New Testament

is shaped by the Old. And of course, there's

no place better to go than Isaiah, to just dwell

in Isaiah and let that speak and try and get

what Isaiah is saying. So I've been pottering

around in Isaiah for these last number of months,

meditating, chewing, occasionally going to somebody

much cleverer than I am just to check out my

Hebrew. That is Eric Ortlund, of course. But

I came across this verse, Isaiah 35, 4, and I've

now been personally meditating on it for about

six months. And I'm wrestling with it, wrestling

with the application of it. I came across it

initially, coincided with the launch of the MACCL

back last September or so. And it was a time

when I realized coming up towards our first residential

intensive and I thought I am feeling really anxious

and worried about this and I was noticing how

I was feeling about it and here I was at this

first residential with students who are wanting

to learn more about leadership and I'm encouraging

them in the necessity of growing in self -awareness

in order that we might become safer. more faithful

leaders, steward our power more faithfully as

we are more aware, self -aware, and use every

means possible to grow in that self -awareness.

And here I was being aware, beginning to be aware

of some of my own unhealthy reactions, or more

aware of my unhealthy reactions. I was noticing

a certain fear and a negativity and an anxiety

and frequently anger. And rather than just attribute

that to my scottishness i thought this might

be something good to talk with someone about

just to to chat through so rather than be a hypocrite

and encourage others to take every means of growing

in self -awareness and not do it myself i thought

i'm going to try and meet with somebody and chat

some of this through and so for the first time

in my life i've been meeting with a counselor

and that's been a really interesting process

really that word interesting process right it's

been provocative it's been challenging and it's

been helpful it's been really helpful one of

the first things that that this chap said to

me it sounds terribly simple almost trite was

stop just stop breathe stop breathe Slow down.

Recognize and welcome the Lord's promised presence.

Pause before you respond. Now, that sounds really

simple, doesn't it? But actually, it's incredibly

profound. It's incredibly difficult. For someone

like me, especially. I've always been, I've got

a busy brain and I'm quick with the answers.

It's a great defense mechanism. To pause, slow

down and wait. I've just about chewed my tongue

off in the last six months trying to do exactly

that. But this advice is also incredibly helpful.

And I want to offer a bit of a meditation on

what I think is one of the biblical bases for

this, which is in this verse, really verse 4

of Isaiah 35. And I hope that it might help you

as much as it's helped me. And I'll just share

this very much in first person, and if it applies,

if it fits, great. And if it doesn't, you can

head off to lunch and just go and enjoy your

lunch after this short meditation. So, the text

of Isaiah 35, 4, to look at the Hebrew more literally,

what struck me and really smacked me in the face

was this. Although it's translated fearful, I

think that was in the NIV, it's translated the

anxious of heart in the ESV, the Hebrew is literally

the hasty of heart. Say to the hasty of heart.

And that's what made me sit up and take notice.

Because the idea of being hasty of heart rather

than just anxious of heart seems a much richer

concept to me and a concept that gives itself

much more to practical application. So it says

literally, say to the hasty of heart, be strong.

Don't be afraid. Behold, your God comes. And

he will come with vengeance. And he will come

with, I think the ESV puts it, the recompense

of God or the benefits of God. It's the same

word used there as in Psalm 103, getting all

his benefits. So he comes with, God comes, he

comes with vengeance, with the recompense or

the benefits of God, and he will come and save

you. So that idea of not so much anxiety or fear,

although those might be symptoms of it, but fundamentally

a hastiness of heart is the concept that I have

been wrestling with. For someone always in a

rush, beginning to reflect on that has been really

rich and challenging. I reflected on the harm

that I have done over my 57 years when I have

responded hastily to things. When I have gone

with the hasty heart and let that determine a

response or an action. And then reflected on

the times when I may have waited and not let

that hasty heart determine a response, I thought,

are there any times where that's done harm? And

I had to conclude, well, no, I can't think of

any. Partly because there aren't many, but I

can't think of many. So what I want to do then

is just explore that basic idea in this text

and then unpack the text a wee bit more and think

about some of the practical applications of it.

The idea is something like this, that as we are

going through life, we receive various stimuli,

various things that provoke us, that demand some

kind of response. Our hearts, if you like, are

provoked. There's some form of stimulus that

acts upon our hearts, and then there's some sort

of response or outcome as a result of how we

process that stimulus, right? the hasty heart

will respond in certain ways. The text goes on

to say that the first thing to say is, be strong

and don't be afraid. The implication is that

the heart that responds hastily is one that is

weak and fearful, first of all. And so, thinking

through this text, What is it that my hasty heart

needs to have said to it so that I respond rightly

and not respond in the wrong kinds of ways? So

I respond in ways that are honoring to God, pleasing

to Him, and not in ways that aren't. And there's

the four things here then that need to be said

to my heart. Behold, your God comes. He comes

with vengeance. He comes with benefits. And He

comes to save. And so think about each of those

four in turn and think about how the application,

stopping and pausing long enough to speak those

things to a hasty heart before responding. The

first one, God comes. Our God. He is present.

If I forget that fundamentally, then my responses

can be all kinds of unhealthiness. How often

I've been forced to challenge myself on this.

How often do I stop simply to acknowledge that

fundamental promise? I will be with you. Behold,

I am with you to the very end of the age after

Jesus has given the great commission. I am with

you, Emmanuel, God, with us. How often in the

average day do I actually simply stop to recognize

I don't feel this. I don't see it. I am not consciously

aware of it. But even just simply to stop and

remember that promise. and keep reminding myself

of it and i'm ashamed to say that in the average

day i'm so busy getting on with stuff that i

stop so seldom to remind myself of this basic

fundamental promise god is there so number one

to stop the lord is present he says i am with

you that's his promise regardless of how i feel

or how i see things And then let my actions be

in accord with that promised presence. The second

thing is, he says, God comes with vengeance.

If I rush past that point, if I forget that God

is the one who comes to avenge what is wrong,

He is the one who comes to bring justice and

judgment. If I rush past that and forget that

and then let my actions play out accordingly,

then I very quickly become frustrated and angry

and at times despairing. I default to being judgmental

of all the stuff that's wrong and I want it to

be put right. But it's when I rush past, God

is the one who brings vengeance. angry responses

to things that happen in life my my tendency

and i notice it to to find myself verging into

beginning to to hate the world and get angry

and frustrated instead of loving people and serving

them are when my hasty heart rushes past the

fact that god is the one who brings vengeance

he is the judge he will sort it He will bring

justice. And I can leave that with him because

it's not my job. Speak to my hasty heart. God

brings vengeance. And God is the one, thirdly,

who brings benefits. Forget not all his benefits.

If I rush past this one and forget that God is

the one who is good and he is generous. And he

wants what's best for me more than I want what's

best for me. And he wants what's best for the

people I love and care about more than I want

what's best for the people I love and care about.

And if I rush past that point too quickly, I

can then slip into things, ugly things like insecurity,

like fear of failure, like a chronic negativity.

Like a fear that I'm unloved or unlovable. And

then I begin to relate to others out of that

place. And it's a much less healthy place to

relate to people out of. But to relate out of

a place that stops long enough to think of the

Lord who is present, who will bring justice and

who brings benefits because he is good and he

is for us and not against us. To relate to others

out of that place is entirely life transforming.

That changes all of my relationships with those

around about me. That's good for me and it's

good for those around about me. And lastly, fourth,

the God who comes. And we'll save. And if I rush

past that and forget that, if my hasty heart

responds without remembering that first and rush

past this fact that He is the one who saves and

He brings salvation, then I'm going to try to

do it myself. I'm going to try to justify myself

instead of repenting. and letting Him do that

justification. I'm going to get defensive if

I'm challenged. I might try to control and direct

others as though I am the Savior and God isn't.

All these are features. Maybe you identify with

some of them. Maybe you don't identify with some

of them. If you don't, you're a better man or

woman than I am. But these are all the things

that need to be said to the hasty heart. God

comes. He brings vengeance. He brings justice.

He brings his benefits. He's good and he's for

us. And he is the one who saves. And you and

I need to stop frequently about once every 30

seconds or more. And just recall. Remind. These

things are true, however I might feel about them.

And if my reactions and responses to the people

around about me are shaped by stopping long enough

to remember, that's going to be good for me.

It's going to be good for the people around about

me. It's going to be good for the world. So there's

some meditations on this text of Isaiah 35, 4.

I wonder if we could all just stop now for a

few seconds in prayer as we close. Just breathe

deeply. Just stop. Breathe. The Lord is present.

He promises to be. And say to your hasty heart,

be strong. Fear not. Your God comes Your God

comes with vengeance Your God comes with benefits

Your God comes to save Thank you, Lord Jesus.