Hope Lost and Found:
Insights on God’s Plan of Salvation, Revival and Restoration
Part 3—Times of Transition and Transformation Precede Revival and Restoration
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by Harvey L. Diamond
Throughout Isaiah, there are messages that carry forth the theme of God transitioning His wrath and judgment to grace and mercy; His condemnation to consolation. His heart can be seen lamenting the people’s estrangement and abandonment; but finding hope in their reconciliation with Him, and renewal and restoration of the relationship through faith in the Messiah.
Such a restoration hinged on several principles:
- Life yielding to God’s ways by faith
- A lifestyle centered in heartfelt worship towards God
- Unity and peace with God through settled attitudes and mindsets
- Trust in the Messiah and His way
- Adherence to Him by reliance on His Holy Spirit
A glimpse of this restoration is foreshadowed in Isaiah 30:15. According to God, restoration of the relationship with God and receiving His salvation would begin by returning one’s heart to Him, making peace with Him, and entering into His rest.
For thus says the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel:
"In returning and rest you shall be saved;
In quietness and confidence shall be your strength."
But you would not,
And you said, "No, for we will flee on horses" --
Therefore you shall flee!
And, "We will ride on swift horses" --
Therefore those who pursue you shall be swift!
Stubbornness and pride, unfortunately, keep us from coming to peace with God—His way. So, God waits patiently. (Isaiah 30:18)
Therefore the LORD will wait, that He may be gracious to you;
And therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you.
For the LORD is a God of justice;
Blessed are all those who wait for Him.
God, however, allows inner turmoil and anxiety, as well as external enemies to pursue His people—to draw them back to Him. In some cases, as Scripture relates—and history confirms—these enemies are literal people groups and nations. In other cases, these are spiritual enemies of the soul.
God’s purpose is to bring us to a state of desperation—that we may come to our senses and to the end of ourselves; and beginning of the path to His throne. For, He knows our frame, and what it will take to bring us to the place of His rest. For, He created us. He knows us. He loves us.
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