In turbulent times like ours, God doesn’t call us to find better strategies or stronger leaders. He calls us to encounter His holiness. When we do, everything changes. We see Him as infinitely greater than our crises. We see ourselves as far more broken than we realized, yet far more forgiven than we dared hope. And we discover we’ve been summoned into His service for such a time as this.

Big Idea:

God graciously uses crises to give his people a bigger view of his holiness, a clearer view of their sin, and a deeper understanding of forgiveness that compels them to serve.

Everything feels like it’s falling apart. Geopolitical shifts, multiple wars, cyber warfare, economic uncertainty, AI disruption, deepening polarization: it all seems out of control. When global experts were asked about the next decade, 57% predicted turbulence or chaos. Only 1% anticipated calm.

But here’s what I want you to see: we’re not the first generation to face upheaval, and God has never wasted a crisis. In fact, some of his greatest works happen when our world is shaking. So what if this disruption isn’t just something to survive, but something God wants to use?

God has often used periods of disruption to accomplish something remarkable. I pray he does so now. Through two case studies, I want to show you what God has done in turbulent times, and what he may be doing in ours today.

Two Case Studies

Consider these two case studies. The parallels are striking.

Case Study One: The Beginning of Exodus

The Israelites were enslaved in Egypt under brutal oppression, but their population kept growing. When slavery didn’t curb their population growth, Pharaoh resorted to genocide by ordering every Hebrew boy to be thrown into the Nile. Mothers gave birth knowing their sons faced execution. The people groaned under bondage and cried out (Exodus 2:23). This wasn’t just physical oppression; it was designed to crush their identity and hope.

Case Study Two: The Beginning of Isaiah’s Ministry

King Uzziah died after a 52-year reign that brought unprecedented prosperity and stability to Judah. His death created a national crisis. With Assyria rising to the north and Judah’s political landscape shifting, the nation faced an uncertain future. Who would protect them now? Who would lead? The times were dangerous, and people naturally looked to human solutions and political alliances rather than to God.

Both scenarios share a crucial pattern: human security collapses, creating a crisis that only God can resolve. Both moments represent the end of human solutions. Both left God’s people vulnerable, afraid, and looking for answers in the wrong places.

God often uses human helplessness to reveal his sufficiency. God wasn’t caught off-guard by these crises. This is the darkness against which God’s deliverance shines. When our support fails, we realize that our true help comes from the Lord, not from rulers or political ties.

The crises weren’t accidents. They were divine setups for deliverance and revelation.

Encountering God’s Holiness

Here’s what God does in these times. Three things:

God gives a bigger view of his holiness.

When the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God… (Exodus 3:4-6)

God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ” (Exodus 3:14)

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. (Isaiah 6:1-4)

What happens in both cases? Their vision lifts beyond their crises to the very presence of God.

Both encounter the holiness of God. Holiness isn’t merely an attribute of God; it is the very essence of God who dwells in unapproachable light. God’s holiness refers to his absolute moral purity and the infinite moral distance between God and his human creatures.

Not only is God holy, but in Isaiah 6 the seraphim call him, “Holy, holy, holy.” R.C Sproul notes:

Only once in sacred Scripture is an attribute of God elevated to the third degree. Only once is a characteristic of God mentioned three times in succession. The Bible says that God is holy, holy, holy. Not that He is merely holy, or even holy, holy. He is holy, holy, holy. The Bible never says that God is love, love, love; or mercy, mercy, mercy; or wrath, wrath, wrath; or justice, justice, justice. It does say that He is holy, holy, holy, that the whole earth is full of His glory.

God is infinitely holy and self-existent. When he reveals himself to Moses, he declares his name: I AM. He alone possesses life within himself—uncreated, eternally unchanging. He depends on nothing and no one, remaining constant across all time.

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