Scripture Isaiah 8:18-22, NASB

18  Behold, I and the children whom the LORD has given me are for signs and wonders in Israel from the LORD of armies, who dwells on Mount Zion. 19  When they say to you, “Consult the mediums and the spiritists who whisper and mutter,” should a people not consult their God? Should they consult the dead in behalf of the living?  20  To the  [a] Law and to the testimony!
If they do not speak in accordance with this word, it is because they have no dawn.  21  They will pass through  [b] the land dejected and hungry, and it will turn out that when they are hungry, they will become enraged and curse  [c] their king and their God as they face upward.  22  Then they will look to the earth, and behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish; and they will be driven away into darkness.

     In the 1946 film, It’s a Wonderful Life, George Bailey, played by Jimmy Stewart, experienced a significant loss. Just before Christmas, George’s uncle loses a cash loan of $8000. George is certain that he would lose the business his father had built, be tried for fraud, and perhaps go to prison. He felt trapped. He had lost all hope. He determined he was more valuable to his family dead than alive, as his wife and children could, at least receive compensation from a life insurance plan he previously had purchased.

     So, George walks out of a bar and goes to a bridge to end his life. Thankfully, he meets Clarence, his guardian angel. Yet Clarence doesn’t solve or fix George’s problems. Instead, Clarence offers George a new perspective. And though Clarence doesn’t use these exact words, he essentially tells George, you can dwell on what is lost, or you can build on what remains.

     The wisdom of building on what remains is not an original theme. The Old Testament prophet, Isaiah, wrote to a community that, like George Bailey, had incurred a great loss. The nation of Israel had been split into two. An enemy army was in position to break down the capitol gates.

     Eventually, the people of Israel did lose their freedom, their country, and their homes. Isaiah minces no word and affirms for Israel that life is not always wonderful. Yet rather than wallow in self-pity, Isaiah fundamentally reiterates the message Clarence conveyed to George Bailey. You can dwell on what is lost, or you can build on what remains.

     Listen, again, to the word Isaiah uses to initiate this passage: “Behold, I and the children whom the LORD has given me are for signs and wonders in Israel from the LORD…” (Isaiah 8:18, NASB). By way of summary, Isaiah is saying, “Folks, I understand you have lost a lot. I get that you are in pain. Yet the first thing you must do is ‘behold.’ Pay close attention to what is really happening around you. Listen and learn from your circumstances.

     One of the greatest mistakes any of us can make in the face of grief is that we deny our losses. However, the path through the grieving process is not to close our eyes to reality but to open them wide. Like me, I’m sure you have discovered that when you look into the darkness long enough, your eyes will adjust, and you will discover things are not as dark, not as daunting, not as scary as you initially thought. This is Isaiah’s counsel: allow yourself grace to get used to the dark.

     A few years ago, I wrote a blog as to the rites of passage some Native American tribes practice when a boy is preparing to become a man. The boy is taken by his father deep into the woods just before nightfall. The boy is told that he must remain in the woods alone until sunrise the following day. The boy must face his greatest fears. He must not panic when he hears strange sounds or the growling of animals. He simply is left to face the darkness by himself. Yet when dawn arises and the light of morning breaks through the trees, the boy’s eyes adjust and can see that he has not been alone at all—that, in fact, his father has been silently standing guard nearby throughout the night.

     Jesus offered an important promise for each of us to remember. Jesus has promised never to abandon us. You simply must allow the eyes of your heart to adjust to the darkness of whatever circumstance in which you find yourself.

     However, Isaiah has one further word of hope to share. He continues: “But there will be no more gloom for her who was in anguish. In earlier times He treated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on He will make it glorious, by the way of the sea, on the other side of the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles” (Isaiah 9:1). Please don’t miss what Isaiah said. You must look on the other side of the Jordan. You must look on the other side of divorce. You must look to the other side of the detox unit. You must look to the other side to life as a widower. These present problems will not last. There is something greater for you to behold on the other side.

     I just love how Isaiah begins chapter nine: “BUT there will be no more gloom for her who was in anguish.” Yes, I may have messed up on several occasions, but God has promised to forgive me seven times seventy. Sure, I may no longer be married, but God has a plan to restore my hope. No doubt that my enemies at the office are planning for my demise, but God promises that no weapon formed against me shall prevail. BUT is the difference between despair and hope. But is the bridge from failure to success. But is the agent through which God can change your life.

     I mentioned earlier what Clarence did not do for George Bailey as George prepared to throw himself over the bridge. Clarence didn’t give George any money. Nor did Clarence resolve George’s legal problems. Neither did Clarence restore his dreams. No, Clarence did none of those things. Yet God did. God offered these gifts to George through the people who knew him, who worked with him, and who loved him. This, too, is the pattern of love God has granted to us—by loving each other in the myriad of ways God has loved us. This is our primary motive for giving of ourselves, our resources, our time, and our money to God. Because he has first loved us.

     Love. Love is what enabled George to peer beyond his losses and gain a new perspective on his life. Love is what empowered him to look beyond the Jordan and see the future God had for his life. Love is what placed a BUT between George’s sense of despair and his pursuit of hope. Love is what convinced George that his best days are not behind him.

     Neither are they for you. If only you will dwell not on what is lost but on what remains. For if you do, you too, will discover it’s a wonderful life.