Isaiah 26:16 LORD, in trouble have they visited thee, they poured out a prayer when thy chastening was upon them.
Perhaps you have seen an elementary-aged student who has their hands cupped one above the other with something inside. They are looking intently, kind of on the sly. The teacher says, “Ok, what do you have there?” That’s a dangerous question because then the hands come open, the palms go right toward the teacher’s face, and there it is, a dead frog, an ugly bug, or whatever. Sometimes we do this with adults as well. They are not holding something in the hands or on the face, and maybe you can’t see it. They are holding it in their heart. You essentially say to them at church or at work, “Ok, what do you have there?” Or, you might politely say, “How is it going?” Then, they take the next twenty-five minutes to tell you.
In Isaiah 26:16 the Bible says, “LORD, in trouble have they [Israel] visited thee, they poured out a prayer when thy chastening was upon them.” The question for you is, “Where does trouble turn you?” Now, God is the Lord of hosts. In Isaiah 27:1, He is the dragon slayer. But, in Isaiah 26:16 He is the Father Who chastens. God’s chastening was upon God’s people.
All of us have trouble. Where does trouble turn you? Let trouble turn you to God. Sometimes we invite trouble upon ourselves and sometimes we do not, but when trouble comes, let that trouble turn you to God. God is not just the Lord of hosts with a sword in His hand and a serpent or a dragon in His sights. He is also the God Who chastens His people because He loves them. He is the vine dresser. He wants His people to take root, blossom, shoot forth, and have fruit. That is the point.
So, when we have trouble, whether we have invited it or not, the question is, “What do you have there?” That is something we can’t always reveal to others, but we should always reveal to God. I don’t pray because I’m powerful or even spiritual. I pray because I’m not. I am needy, wretched, and need help. God is the One Who provides the help. “LORD, in trouble have they visited thee.”
Over and over the psalmist says, “I was in trouble. I prayed. God answered. God, thank you.” That is the order of things. The word “trouble” here means “a right spot.” Maybe there have been times when you have been between a rock and a hard place. In such times, we need to pour out our prayers to God.
It reminds me of someone at Christmas who is walking down the hall with a bowl full of punch. There is a junction in the hall, and someone else is blindly walking down the other way. These two meet at the junction where the person with the punch stops, the second person stops, but the punch keeps going and pours all over that second person. They “punch bowl” the second person. They pour out onto that person. These people poured out a prayer when God’s chastening was upon them. Psalm 62 says, “Pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us.” So, let your trouble turn you to God. Trouble is a tight spot, and maybe you find yourself in trouble today. God is the One Who wants to hear your prayers and provide you His answer.
The word “prayer” here means “a whisper.” They poured out a whisper when God’s chastening was upon them. I had a friend who recently had to make a snap decision and he had to make a quick prayer. He didn’t have time to pray for ten minutes or an hour. He didn’t even have time to pray for five minutes. It was “Lord, help!” It was a whispered prayer, like when God’s chastening was upon His people.
So, God was chastening them, not destroying them, and God was chastening them to make them more fruitful. In short, “LORD, in trouble have they visited thee.” Trouble was the very thing that turned them toward God. It was the trouble that God had allowed. They poured out a whisper, a prayer, when God’s chastening was upon them. So, what is that in your hands? What is that on your face? What is that in your heart? If it is trouble, let your trouble turn you to God.