8 Thus says the LORD, “In a favorable time I have answered You, And in a day of salvation I have helped You; And I will keep You and give You for a covenant of the people, To restore the land, to make them inherit the desolate heritages; 9 Saying to those who are bound, `Go forth,’ To those who are in darkness, `Show yourselves.’ Along the roads they will feed, And their pasture will be on all bare heights. Isaiah 49:8-9

For believers, there are three things we must do to be victorious in our faith. First, we must pray. Second, we must seek and rely on the Lord with all our hearts. Third, we must repent. We must pray in advance to receive the Lord’s grace to righteously overcome the difficulties we will face. No matter how difficult they are, we must put all our hope in the Lord and believe that these challenges are sent to us by the Lord to strengthen our faith and bring greater understanding of our salvation. We must have no regrets, never yielding in our approach. And we must repent our sins, which block us from living righteously. Live as the light no matter what comes our way. 

First, it is very important for us to pray before these difficult trials arrive. They will be hardships which we cannot overcome on our own. Do not be like the foolish maidens who did not prepare oil for their lamps and were not able to meet the bridegroom. Secure the oil before that time comes. Do not wait until it’s too late. The time for prayer is now. Prayers made when we are already in the midst of suffering will not be answered by God. We must secure God’s grace before hardship comes into our lives to receive the power and the ability to face them righteously. God will answer our prayers if we pray with all our hearts. 

Securing God’s grace and actually receiving God’s “salvation” during a crisis happen at separate times. This is shown in this passage. Pray “in a favorable time and I have answered you.” In a “favorable time,” we pray and God “answers” by giving His grace to us first. Then, when hardship arrives later at a different time, God “helps” us: “And in a day of salvation I have helped You.” When things are going well and it seems we do not need God’s help, that is the time when we must pray. This is the first thing we must do.

Next, we must hope only in the Lord. We must believe that God loves us, will never abandon us, and will always be our salvation. No matter how scary the attacks of our enemies, we must know God will come to our aid. No matter how many enemies we face, we must firmly believe only God can deliver our salvation. Look only to God. Pray in advance and hope only in the Lord.

Lastly, we must repent and “go forth” from the “darkness” to become those who live in the light without fear: “to those who are bound, `Go forth,’ To those who are in darkness, `Show yourselves.’” Come out of the darkness. Repent all your sins and come into the light. Repent and then live righteously according to God’s direction. Live according to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. We can only do this if we first repent our sins. Clean up all that is dark in us. When we do this, we will suffer, and it may seem at times that God has abandoned us. But this is not the case. Do not doubt or despair. Others may say we are being foolish, that only we are suffering by not betraying our faith. Remember that “those who hopefully wait for Me will not be put to shame.” 

How do we stay true?  We pray. We put all our hope in the Lord. We repent. When we do these three things, “Kings will be your guardians, And their princesses your nurses.” They will “bring your sons in their bosom, And your daughters will be carried on their shoulders.” When we honor our contract with the Lord, He has promised to take care of us. We cannot be saved through our own power, and others will not be able to save us. When God helps us, it is an awesome power working on our behalf. 

Though it may look to put us in destruction’s path, the Lord is telling us that we will overcome. But we cannot do so on our own. We must first secure the Lord’s help by praying in advance. Then put all our hope in Him. Finally, we must realize that, in order to receive His help, we must clean up our lives and repent, so that we can live righteously and face whatever trials come to us. Focus on these three ways to build our faith and receive God’s blessings:

1. Pray in advance.
2. Hope only in the Lord.
3. Repent to come out of the darkness.

No matter what hardship comes our way, God will clean up the darkness if we obey Him with all our heart and being. We must stay true though we are tempted to give up and betray our faith. Why do we need these trials? They enable us to discard our selfish desires and humble ourselves before the Lord. Victory beyond comprehension is ours when we do these three things.

Click for Korean sermon https://soundcloud.com/yhpaik/1980-9-9a