Singing in the Rain

”On that day you will say: “I will praise You, Lord, although You were angry with me. Your anger has turned away, and You have had compassion on me. Indeed, God is my salvation; I will trust Him and not be afraid, for Yah, the Lord, is my strength and my song. He has become my salvation.” You will joyfully draw water from the springs of salvation, and on that day you will say: “Give thanks to Yahweh; proclaim His name! Celebrate His works among the peoples. Declare that His name is exalted. Sing to Yahweh, for He has done glorious things. Let this be known throughout the earth. Cry out and sing, citizen of Zion, for the Holy One of Israel is among you in His greatness.” (Isaiah 12:1-6 HCSB)

Simple Outline:

Our personal need vs. 1-2

Our shared satisfaction vs. 3

Our mission of joyful proclamation vs. 4-6

Key verse: ”You will joyfully draw water from the springs of salvation“ (Isaiah 12:3 HCSB)

There’s a song from the 70’s by Carly Simon entitled “Anticipation.” It is a song about two people living in the moment instead of anticipating some better, future version of their life and love for each other. The refrain says, “Anticipation, anticipation is makin’ me late, is keepin’ me waitin’…” and the song ends, “And tomorrow we might not be together; I’m no prophet and I don’t know nature’s ways; so I’ll try and see into your eyes right now; and stay right here ‘cause these are the good old days… these are the good old days.”

As each year rolls by, the anticipation of something better and the nostalgic longing for the “good old days” seems to get stronger, and stronger. Doesn’t it? But honestly, I don’t think I want to go back and live through puberty and Junior High School, again. Not a chance. I’m glad that’s far, far behind me. But I do think we tend to long for a simpler time, a time when life seemed less hectic and more exciting. I think that desire has less to do with what life was like back then (the good old days) and more about what we were like back then. We were young, carefree, no significant life responsibilities, enjoying new experiences and looking forward to what was coming. No wonder we look back on those times with a feeling of nostalgia.

But now? Well, now we’re slammed with the realities of life. The weight of personal ambition and family responsibilities. Now we are less concerned with what the future might hold and more concerned with just making it through today intact. Carefree? Hardly. We are burdened down with cares, concerns and worries from every direction. Responsibilities often overwhelm us and many keep us awake at night. Excited about tomorrow? The future often looms over us like a specter and leaves us with a sense of uncertainty and anxiety. On top of all that, we see what we believe are the “perfect lives” of celebrities and even our friends and we wonder what we did wrong.

If you’ve been following our study in Isaiah, you know that we’ve come face to face with the “angry God” of the Old Testament and His wrath towards sin. Some may feel that just adds to their feelings of anxiety, fear and sense of dread. While Isaiah has certainly given us plenty of reason to shrink back in fear of God’s vengeful wrath on sin, he has also given us overwhelming hope in God’s redemption and His promise of Immanuel – God among us. If you’ve been living in fear of God’s wrath or uncertainty about your salvation, then you really ought to go read today’s focal passage and recognize its undeniable relationship to the previous chapters recounting God’s promise of judgment but also His promise of coming to us, being among us and redeeming us to Himself.

The opening phrase, “On that day you will say:” clearly ties this back to the previous chapters (see 10:20, 27, 11:10, 11). It ties it back not only to His anger and wrath towards sin, but most especially to His promise of redemption. “On that day you will say: ‘I will praise You, LORD, although You were angry with me. Your anger has turned away, and You have had compassion on me.’” God hates sin, but God loves sinners and has compassion on us.

Eight years ago, I learned to hate something within someone while loving them even more deeply. While some parents have learned this through a cancer diagnosis in a child, I learned it through a type 1 diabetes diagnosis in my granddaughter. I have come to hate what it does to her and how it seeks to destroy her. Yet, I have come to love her more deeply through it. That’s a very simple but inadequate description of how and why God hates sin in us and, yet, loves us so deeply that He has “come among us” to redeem us.

”On that day you will say: “I will praise You, Lord, although You were angry with me. Your anger has turned away, and You have had compassion on me.“ (Isaiah 12:1 HCSB)

The “you” in this verse is singular and could be translated, “On that day each of you will individually say: ‘I will praise You, LORD, although you were angry with me. Your anger has turned away, and You have had compassion on me.’” This is not about how someone else has failed you, this is about how you and I have failed in what we are supposed to do and who we are supposed to be. This is about how God hates that sin because of what it is doing within us and what it has done to us. This is about the sin that exists within each of us that is destroying the image of God, the good that was created within each of us.

Isaiah continues: ”Indeed, God is my salvation; I will trust Him and not be afraid, for Yah, the Lord, is my strength and my song. He has become my salvation.” (Isaiah 12:2 HCSB)

Our response to God’s salvation, Jesus/literally: Yeshua in Hebrew, is individualized. Each of us must determine if we will trust Him as our sole source of life and salvation. This verse is, in essence, a declaration of New Testament/new covenant faith in Jesus. When we declare our trust or faith in Jesus, He is able to banish fear, anxiety and worry from our lives. Why? Because perfect love drives fear out of our hearts. When we know God loves us in this way, we have nothing to fear. “He has become my salvation!” Or, He is my Jesus!

The Apostle Paul puts it this way: ”What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He did not even spare His own Son but offered Him up for us all; how will He not also with Him grant us everything? Who can bring an accusation against God’s elect? God is the One who justifies.“ (Romans 8:31-33 HCSB)

At this point in the passage, the “you” switches from being singular to being plural. We move from an individualized faith response and what God does for each of us, to a corporate, joint or communal response: “All of you will joyfully draw water from the springs of salvation.” Salvation is not something that happens once and you forget it and move on with life, it is something you joyfully draw from on a continual, ongoing basis.

The salvation that Jesus brings to us meets those specific, individualized needs within each of us but it also draws and calls us to gather around that wellspring of life and joyfully draw out and drink deeply of that refreshing, satisfying water. There’s nothing quite like a long, cool drink of water on a dry, hot day. If you’ve ever hauled hay on a hot summer day in Oklahoma, you know the sheer joy of a drink of cool water. Even better, you might know the overwhelming ecstasy of running and jumping into the cool water of a nearby pond at the end of a day of hauling hay. It doesn’t get much better than that… except, with Jesus.

But this isn’t just about how you feel when you take that drink or plunge into that water. This is about how WE all feel when we gather together and take that drink or plunge. Personally, I have a tendency to downplay the role of emotions in the process of faith and trust in Jesus. Not because they aren’t important but because we tend to overstate or overly depend on them. Sometimes we think we’ve lost our salvation because we no longer feel like we once did and that’s simply not true. While salvation is never based on having the proper emotional response, it certainly should result in an emotional response. I don’t need to get emotional in order to compel me to jump into that cool water after a hot day of hauling hay, but I’m pretty sure my reaction to that event will be emotional.

This key verse highlights why I called this lesson: Singing in the Rain. If you’ve never watched the movie, here’s a clip (https://youtu.be/swloMVFALXw?feature=shared). Gene Kelly is dancing and singing in the rain because of how love has made him feel. When we truly realize what has just happened – what God has done for us and in us, we are going to respond to God’s love by splashing in the water, getting it on everyone else around us, dancing and yelling, a lot. Given the circumstances, we are likely to yell for everyone else to “jump in” with us! And that’s exactly what comes next…

”On that day you will say: ‘Give thanks to Yahweh; proclaim His name! Celebrate His works among the peoples. Declare that His name is exalted. Sing to Yahweh, for He has done glorious things. Let this be known throughout the earth. Cry out and sing, citizen of Zion, for the Holy One of Israel is among you in His greatness.’”(Isaiah 12:4-6 HCSB)

These verses are, in effect, the people who are experiencing the joy of the Lord’s personal presence and salvation and telling everyone else about it. We give thanks to Yahweh, we proclaim His name, we celebrate His works among the peoples. He has so impacted us and our lives that we simply can’t remain silent, we must sing out about what He has done and what He is doing. In other words, that drink of cool water and dip in the cool spring on that hot day of hard work is so glorious that you can’t help but tell everyone you meet about it!

You’ve got to try this! You’ve never experienced anything like it, I promise. It is GLORIOUS!

Storms clouds may be gathering. Things might be difficult and challenging. But you’ve experienced the glorious presence and redemptive work of Almighty God in the midst of your otherwise dreary day. And now, now you are out singing in the rain. Let the rain fall, you don’t care. Let the those folks sitting inside, out of the rain, look at you as if you’re an odd ball. Who cares? Not you, because God has pulled the clouds aside in your heart and all you can see is sunshine and blue sky. You took a long, cool drink and it was incredible.

Sing to Yahweh, for He has done GLORIOUS things!

God’s judgment on sin may seem harsh, but that’s because you’ve overlooked His incredible grace and boundless mercy. Yes, God will judge sin in each of us. But He also offers mercy, grace and salvation to those who trust Him. He offers salvation, not based on your perceived goodness but based on your acknowledged need and your cry for mercy. God humbles the prideful but exalts the humble.

Come, draw a long cool drink from the wellspring of salvation. Drink deeply and discover that everything you’ve been seeking can be found in the Holy One of Israel, Jesus. The grace that God gives is like His love, deep and wide. It satisfies every longing in our soul. The spring of salvation fulfills every need and desire we have in life. Come, drink and see that His goodness satisfies your thirst…