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How to Turn a Tough Year Around
Welcome
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Problem Solver
Day # 56 of 2024
Years become defined by their happenings…
Sometimes positive…
Sometimes negative…
Far too often our Years are marked by negative happenings.
o 1963 – Kennedy assassination
o 2001 – 9/11
o 1939-1945 – WWII
o 2020 – Covid 19
Good things happened those years… we remember the worst.
THE WORST
We have all experienced bad years…
Divorce
Lost job
Bad health
Struggle in school
Bankruptcy
Years defined… often negative
It was this kind of Year for the Nation of Israel in Isaiah 6…
Isaiah 6:1 (NIV) In the year that King Uzziah died…
Who is Uzziah?
Uzziah was the King of Israel/Judah.
ONE OF THE BEST KINGS.
- Reigned 52 years.
- Prosperous and powerful
- He had inherited a mess and made it a marvel.
- His leadership spread his fame abroad.
2 Chronicles 26:8 The Ammonites brought tribute to Uzziah, and his fame spread as far as the border of Egypt, because he had become very powerful.
The people loved Uzziah… but this was the year he died. It was the worst… Now what?
The Worst
What do we do when we experience the worst?
-Depression
-Isolation
-Give up
The worst often sticks with us… Now What?
Isaiah 6:1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple.
See God
When the worst happened… Isaiah saw God.
See God?
In the worst times God can still be seen?
In the year the bad thing happened… Isaiah saw the Lord.
You can see the Lord.
Not only did Isaiah see the Lord… Isaiah found his purpose.
Find Purpose
Isaiah sees God, and God reveals Isaiah’s purpose.
6:9 “Go and tell the people.”
Isaiah is changed forever…
Do you know your purpose?
Eph 2:10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
In the year the bad thing happened… Isaiah found his purpose.
See God
Find purpose
Envision victory
Isaiah 6:1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple.
What is the train of his robe?
Ancient world – King’s ornate clothing = victory.
The more victories = a longer robe.
The same year the bad thing happened… Isaiah envisioned victory.
Can you envision victory?
Will was in the hospital…
Isaiah saw God… found purpose… envisioned victory.
But the bad thing still happened…
*HAND OUT CARDS & PENS*
Both Good and Bad
Bad & Good can happen in the same year.
Don’t make light of the worst things…
Call to action
THE WORST – heal, talk, pray
THE BEST – See God, Find Purpose, envision victory (faith)