A Seed of Hope: When God Brings Life Out of What Looks Finished

Written By View Church

Pastor Reed Sowell

Hope often shows up in unexpected places. Sometimes it hides in plain sight, tucked inside circumstances that feel barren, stripped down, or beyond repair. This kind of hope does not announce itself loudly or arrive on a predictable timeline. It grows quietly, patiently, often beneath the surface. The message woven through Isaiah 6 reminds us that even when things appear cut down to nothing, God is never finished. Click the link above for the full message.

The Question That Still Echoes: “Who Will I Send?”

The phrase “Who will I send?” is not just a historical moment recorded in Isaiah’s vision. It is a question that continues to echo across generations. In Isaiah 6, the prophet encounters God in overwhelming holiness and glory. The response is not confidence but humility. Isaiah becomes deeply aware of his own limitations, his lack, and his need for cleansing.

What follows is striking. Isaiah does not volunteer because he feels ready or capable. He responds because he has encountered God. That encounter changes everything. The call to be sent flows out of transformation, not self-assurance. This pattern still holds true. God’s invitation is not extended to the most polished or prepared but to those willing to say yes in light of who God is.

Saying yes to God has never been about qualifications. It has always been about surrender. When God sends, He also sustains. The calling carries with it the provision needed to walk it out.

Sent People Carry Light, Not Their Own Strength

Living as someone who is sent means understanding where the power comes from. The task of representing God in the world cannot be accomplished through personal effort alone. The work requires dependence on the Holy Spirit. This is not about striving harder but about being empowered differently.

Sent people do not manufacture light. They carry it. They bring God’s presence into everyday spaces, not through perfection but through obedience. The strength to do this does not originate internally. It flows from God, who equips those He sends.

This understanding reframes how mission is approached. It becomes less about results and more about faithfulness. When people live with this posture, they become conduits of hope, not because of their ability but because of God’s faithfulness.

Resistance Is Not a Detour From God’s Will

Resistance is often misunderstood. When opposition arises, it can feel like a signal that something has gone wrong. Scripture paints a different picture. Resistance frequently accompanies obedience. Jesus Himself promised that following Him would not be free of difficulty.

Isaiah’s assignment was not an easy one. He was sent to people who would hear but not understand and see but not perceive. Their hearts were described as calloused. This was not a receptive audience. Yet this did not invalidate the calling.

Resistance does not negate obedience. It often strengthens it. Faith grows when it is tested. Trust deepens when outcomes are uncertain. Being sent into resistance is not a failure of mission but a confirmation of it.

A Difficult Question: “How Long, Lord?”

After receiving his assignment, Isaiah asks a painfully honest question: “For how long, Lord?” The answer he receives is sobering. Cities will lie ruined. Houses will be deserted. The land will be ravaged and left forsaken.

These verses point forward to the Babylonian exile, an event that would occur more than a century later. Judah’s downfall was not sudden. It was the result of sustained rebellion and misplaced trust. The people relied on their land, their cities, and their systems rather than on God.

The warning carried weight because it was rooted in reality. Choices have consequences. Trajectories matter. Yet even here, the story does not end in devastation.

The Stump That Holds a Promise

Isaiah 6:13 introduces an unexpected image. After describing destruction and loss, the passage says:

“And though a tenth remains in the land, it will again be laid waste. But as the terebinth and oak leave stumps when they are cut down, so the holy seed will be the stump in the land.” (Isaiah 6:13, NIV)

The stump is not the end of the story. It is the beginning of something preserved. What looks like finality is actually intentional restraint. God does not allow complete annihilation. He preserves a remnant.

This is where hope quietly enters the picture. With God, wastelands are not wasted. Hope remains even when it cannot be seen. The stump holds a seed. Life is still possible.

Life Thriving Where It Should Not Exist

Creation itself reflects this truth. Life persists in places that seem completely inhospitable. There are animals that survive without water in scorching deserts. Others endure extreme cold with specialized adaptations. Some live in the depths of the ocean, under immense pressure and total darkness.

These environments appear unsuitable for life, yet life thrives there. The same principle applies spiritually. God brings growth out of places that seem incapable of sustaining it. Desolation does not intimidate Him. Scarcity does not limit Him.

In Isaiah’s vision, hope survives in the most unlikely place. Not in flourishing forests or fertile land, but in a stump.

Why the Cutting Had to Happen

The destruction described in Isaiah 6 was not arbitrary. It was purposeful. God cuts down what cannot produce life. The exile exposed false securities. The people trusted in what they had built rather than in the One who had provided it.

Judgment revealed misplaced hope. While painful, it was also redemptive. Refinement often feels like loss, but it creates space for dependence. Growth does not only come through addition. It also comes through subtraction.

There are seasons when God allows things to be removed. Not as punishment, but as preparation. When false supports collapse, true reliance can form.

Pruning as an Act of Love

Pruning is rarely comfortable. It disrupts routines and challenges identities. Relationships may change. Circumstances may shift. Yet Scripture consistently frames pruning as an act of love.

Some of the most significant growth happens when things are taken away. God prunes those He loves so that what remains can bear fruit. This work is deep and often unseen, but it is never careless.

Timothy Keller once observed that suffering acts like smelling salts, waking people up to realities about life and the heart that would otherwise go unnoticed. Pain is not authored by God, but it can be redeemed by Him.

A Remnant Preserved by Mercy

Isaiah 6 speaks of a tenth remaining in the land. This remnant is not preserved because of strength or obedience. It survives because of God’s faithfulness. According to the covenant, destruction would have been justified. Mercy intervened.

God remembers His promises to Abraham and David. He chooses restoration over elimination. Humility becomes the pathway back.

This pattern repeats throughout Scripture. God preserves a people, even when discipline is required. Reduction does not mean rejection. It often leads to renewal.

Hope Rooted in Jesus

The image of the stump appears again in Isaiah 11:

“A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.” (Isaiah 11:1, NIV)

This passage points directly to Jesus. From what was cut down, life emerges again. Jesse, the father of David, represents a lineage that appeared diminished. Yet from that line comes the Messiah.

Jesus embodies the seed of hope. He was rejected, misunderstood, and crucified. What looked like defeat became the means of salvation. God brings life from what looks finished.

Hope does not always look impressive. Sometimes it looks buried. Sometimes it looks delayed. But it is always alive.

The Rejected Stone That Became the Cornerstone

Jesus referenced Psalm 118 when speaking to the Pharisees:

“The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” (Matthew 21:42, NIV)

Rejection did not disqualify Him. It established Him. The cross did not negate His mission. It fulfilled it. Judgment and hope intersected in the same person.

Acts 4 records Peter declaring:

“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12, NIV)

The cornerstone holds the structure together. Without it, everything collapses. God chose what was rejected to become foundational.

Living Sent While Anchored in Hope

The question remains: how long? The answer is simple and demanding. As long as the world needs hope.

Living sent does not require going far away. It begins with the places already occupied. Homes, workplaces, neighborhoods, relationships. Carrying hope means staying anchored in Christ while stepping into resistance with faithfulness.

This kind of living is not flashy. It is consistent. It is rooted. It trusts that God is at work, even when evidence feels scarce.

Practical Ways to Respond

  1. Embrace God’s pruning
    Allow God to remove what no longer produces life. Trust that loss does not mean abandonment.

  2. Look for the seed of hope
    Pay attention to what remains. God often works quietly before growth becomes visible.

  3. Live sent into resistance
    Obedience matters more than outcomes. Faithfulness is the measure, not success.

Hope is not fragile. It survives exile, rejection, and death itself. With God, nothing is ever truly wasted.

Further Reading

Other links

View Church https://viewchurch.co
Next

Sent Into Resistance: Why Faithfulness Still Matters When the Message Isn’t Welcomed