Jason Dohm, delivering a sermon titled 'A Word to Women at Ease,' draws from Isaiah 32 to convey God's message to the women of Judah. Isaiah's prophecy includes both a warning of impending judgment due to unfaithfulness and a promise of future restoration. Dohm focuses on 'women at ease' and 'complacent daughters,' explaining that their sense of security is a false peace, as they live as if their current prosperity will last forever. In contrast, the Proverbs 31 woman is highlighted as someone who anticipates challenges and prepares diligently. She cultivates a life of diligence, making her ready for any hardship. Dohm emphasizes the importance of cultivating diligence now, especially in times of security and prosperity, and provides practical tips for doing so, including creating daily routines, making lists, and allocating time. He also advises fathers not to shield their daughters from pressures and to ensure they have meaningful tasks with deadlines. The sermon concludes with practical questions for self-reflection and application.

The title of my message this morning is, A Word to Women at Ease. It's not a word from me. It is a word from God. It's actually from Isaiah 32. So I ask you to go ahead and turn there.

We'll be in Isaiah 32 this morning. God has a word to women who are at ease. Let's pray. God, we plead with you that you would be present. You wouldn't leave us to ourselves this morning, but that you would come and be among us and that you would make the time valuable.

Please come and make something of this time. We ask it in Jesus name, amen. Isaiah is a prophet who was sent to the people of Judah. He was sent to say both that the judgment of God was coming for the people's unfaithfulness. The people have been very unfaithful for a very long time, and so God sends a prophet to say judgment is coming because of that.

But also, that that wouldn't be the end of the story. So there's a two-fold message from the prophet Isaiah, you've been very unfaithful and judgment is coming because of that, but that is not the end of the story. There's a second message, the second message is that God in His mercy would give a time of restoration after the judgment. So He wasn't just going to end things with the judgment, but that after humbling the people and disciplining the people that He would actually forgive their sins and he would bring them back from captivity and restore them as a people on whom his name dwelled. So this is the context for Isaiah 32.

We actually have a little bit of both, the judgment on people for their own faithfulness but also God's promise to restore. I'm going to be reading Isaiah 32 verses 9 through 11. Isaiah 32 verses 9 through 11. God through the prophet says this, rise up you women who are at ease, hear my voice. You complacent daughters give ear to my speech.

In a year and some days you will be troubled, you complacent women, for the vintage will fail, the gathering will not come. Tremble, you women who are at ease, be troubled you complacent ones. Strip yourselves, make yourselves bare, and gird sackcloth on your waists." We have these two key phrases from the text. They both appear in the first verse and then both appear again after the first verse. The two phrases are this, women who are at ease and complacent daughters.

Let's take those one by one. Women who are at ease, this Hebrew word translated at ease means at ease, quiet, secure. There are women who are living quiet, secure lives. They are at ease. This phrase, complacent daughters, the word translated complacent into English means to be safe, to feel safe, not to be safe, to feel safe, to be careless.

Okay, so this is an unfolding of these Hebrew words. In fact, in the case of the second one, the King James version renders it careless daughters. So either is a fine translation, complacent daughters or careless daughters, but that Second rendering just gives us sort of a fuller sense of what that means Here is God's point delivered to these women by the prophet Isaiah. You're living as if everything will always be as it is today. You're living like nothing will ever change.

It's quiet and secure now. It's a time of ease now. You're living like it will always be quiet and secure. It will always be a time of ease. You're living carefree and careless.

You're carefree and careless. And that's a terrible mistake. God comes to these carefree, careless women, women who are living at ease, to tell them they've made a terrible mistake. So God says to them, rise up, listen to me, tremble, be troubled. We think of God as a God of peace, and he actually calls himself the God of peace.

It's not wrong of us to say that. The Scripture designates him that way. But here, to these women, he actually wants to cause them to tremble. He wants to come and trouble them. Can you imagine that?

Is that how you conceive of God? Well, in this instance, this is how we should conceive of God. He wants to come and cause these women to tremble, to cause them to be troubled. Now, it should be said that God wants to give peace to the troubled, yes? God wants to come and give peace to the troubled, that's true.

But here it is clear that God wants to trouble those who have false peace. So both things can be very true at the same time. God wants to come and give peace to the troubled, but also that God wants to trouble those who have false peace. So now here he comes to women who have false peace. They're living as if Things will go on forever in peace and prosperity as they're experiencing at the present time, but God knows it's not going to be that way forever, and so He comes to trouble them because they are experiencing a false peace.

It's not the peace of God. God wants the careless to be awakened to the reality that seasons of security and prosperity are just that. They are seasons that don't last forever. So you may very well be in a season of security and prosperity. Praise God for that.

That's the gift of God. That's the kindness and goodness of God. But if you're in a season that is a season of security and prosperity understand that it is just that it is a season that won't last forever. I can almost promise you that. Especially when you live among a people who reject God.

God comes to these women at ease, these complacent daughters or these careless daughters to say, that's not going to last forever. You live among a people who have rejected me." So the security cannot last forever among the people who reject God. The prosperity cannot last forever among a people who reject God. By contrast, actually by the starkest contrast, meaning I'm not sure how I could get a contrast that was more pronounced than this one, listen to what the scripture says about the Proverbs 31 woman. Most Father-Daughter retreats, spending most of our time talking about the Proverbs 31 woman.

I might be the only one to mention her today, but the Proverbs 31 woman in verse 21, Proverbs 31 verse 21 says, she is not afraid of snow for her household, for all her household is clothed with scarlet." I'll read that again, Proverbs 31 verse 21. The Proverbs 31 woman is not afraid of snow for her household, for all her household is clothed with scarlet." This is a woman who anticipates challenges and hardships ahead. She might be in a time of security and prosperity, but she knows if she's in that season that it's just a season. And so she's anticipating times of challenges and hardships ahead, freezing cold weather, and she isn't afraid of them because she's looking ahead and making ready in a time of security and prosperity. Looking ahead, she knows it's a season.

She's looking ahead knowing there will be a different kind of season, a season of challenges and prosperity, challenges and hardship, and she's making ready for those. Listen to Proverbs 31 verse 27. It's just five verses later, six verses later. She watches over the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. So this is the Proverbs 31 woman.

She says, bring on the snow. My household's ready for the challenges and hardships ahead. Bring on the snow. Because she's watching over the ways of her household and she's not eating the bread of idleness. She's actually cultivated a life of diligence that allows her to face whatever comes to herself and her household without fear.

No wonder she's the exemplary woman. She has cultivated, like a gardener cultivates, raises, grows, weeds, waters, she has cultivated a life of diligence that allows her to face whatever comes to herself in her household, bring on the snow, bring on the drought. When the times of security and prosperity are gone and the times of challenges and hardships come, I've cultivated a life of diligence. I'm watching over my household. She knows she can face those times without fear.

So we're gathered to say, become a woman like that. So the Isaiah 32 woman, we started in Isaiah 32 with God through the prophet giving the warning, the Isaiah 32 woman, this woman at ease, this complacent daughter is living like security and prosperity will be a steady state forever. It will just go on forever. One day of security and prosperity after another until the end of time, and she needs to be made afraid to connect her with reality because that's not reality. So God comes to trouble her.

Meanwhile, the Proverbs 31 woman has cultivated a life of diligence, looking forward to times of challenge and difficulty so she doesn't need to be afraid. One woman, God needs to make her afraid to connect her with reality. The other woman has looked ahead and sees, oh this time of security and prosperity is just a season, it won't always be like this, and so she's cultivated a life of diligence so she doesn't need to be afraid. She's already connected with reality. Okay, let's apply this.

I have three ways to apply this for daughters, one for dads, write them down. Daughters, number one. Paul White said this last night, it should be repeated. Here's what Paul said last night. You will never be diligent enough.

Christ's perfect diligence is ours. From that, we pursue diligence. That's sort of strange. We're calling you to diligence and then we say, but you'll never be diligent enough, and that's true. But the person who has been diligent enough is the Lord Jesus Christ and that becomes the believers by faith in Jesus.

His diligence becomes yours by faith and then out of that you pursue diligence. It sounds strange but out of this place of rest, you pursue diligence. Rest in Christ. He took care of these things on our behalf. And because of that, we have a platform out of which we can pursue diligence.

It seems like it wouldn't make sense, but actually if you've been in the faith for a while you understand that makes perfect sense. It actually does make sense. Now I'm talking today about structures and disciplines, but they must be rooted in walking with Jesus. That is what changes the pursuit of diligence from being life-sapping to life-giving. If you pursue diligence outside of Christ, you will find that you cannot sustain it.

It will be life-sapping because you can never be diligent enough unless you're resting in Christ and pursuing diligence after that. And then it actually becomes life-giving. The pursuit of diligence becomes life-giving because you understand I don't have to account for it all. God has me in his hands. I pursue diligence out of that.

Number two. This is a terrible time to be living like the security and prosperity you currently enjoy will last forever. Daughters, this is for you. This is a terrible time to be living like the security and prosperity you currently enjoy will last forever. Now there's no good time to live that way, but this is a particularly terrible time.

Why is that? Because you live among a people who are rejecting God. The security and the prosperity that we currently enjoy cannot last. It cannot last. And diligence is something that takes time to cultivate.

You're not going to wake up someday and be magically diligent. Look it happened overnight while I was sleeping. The cow does not give milk. Thank you Scott. The cow does not give milk.

You have to go get the milk. Diligence is something that takes time to cultivate. There's a saying, when you need a friend, it's too late to make one. True? It takes time to make friends.

When you need a friend, too late. If you don't already have one, too late. Diligence is like that. When you need diligence, when the days of challenge and hardships come, Good luck finding the diligence, as if it will somehow magically appear when you haven't cultivated it in a time of security and prosperity. The time of security and prosperity is the time to put to use to cultivate it.

That means now. That brings us to number three, daughters, cultivate a life of diligence now. Don't even wait until tomorrow. Begin to cultivate more than you ever have a life of diligence now. I'm going to give you three tips.

Okay, let's get practical. Okay, we're going to get practical. Three tips. Tip number one, create a really good daily pattern and routine. Scott said this last night, it bears repeating.

Create a really good pattern, daily pattern and routine. Does that mean it will never be broken? Of course it doesn't mean that. Does that mean you shouldn't have one? Of course it doesn't mean that.

Of course you should have one and of course sometimes it won't hold. Oh that's okay. When you create a really good daily pattern in routine, diligence becomes more simple to pursue, to cultivate. It means that everything doesn't require a heroic effort. You want to create a life where everything doesn't require heroic effort because you've made it part of your patterns and routines.

Create a really good daily pattern and routine. Tip number two. Have a written list of at least a few of the most important things to accomplish every day. Have a written list of at least a few of the most important things to accomplish every day. Now I should say this, we don't set a world record every day.

So a really important thing on your list to accomplish today might be get the sheets off the bed, get them through the washer, get them through the dryer, get them back on the bed. Okay, We don't cure cancer every day. I don't, you don't. I'm a pastor, I have administrative days where I'm not even studying much that day. I'm doing the most basic blocking and tackling, boring things you've ever seen, but it's important to get it done, and that's on my list for the day.

When you write it down, you can create an internal sense of pressure to accomplish it. And anyone who thinks an internal sense of pressure to accomplish things is a bad thing is in for a bad thing. An internal sense of pressure to get the important things accomplished is a good thing, not a bad thing. Don't let anyone tell you differently. Tip number three.

Back to tip number two, just for a minute. I don't understand what the power of writing it down is. I just know there's a power to it. If you don't write it down, it's so much easier not to do it. If you do write it down, there's some sort of internal expectation that magically appears.

Write it down. Okay. Number three. Allocate your time. So here's the alternative to allocating your time.

Just doing the next thing that happens to be in front of you or happens to occur to you. It's life happening to you. Allocating your time is from 2 to 3 30, I want to do this. Allocate your time. Don't just do the next thing that happens to be in front of you.

Like I've already said, do these things change? Unexpected things disrupt this? Absolutely. It happens to all of us. That's not a problem necessarily.

But you plan, instead of life just happening to you, you plan what you want to get done and when you expect to do it, and that's how things get done. This is what it means to cultivate a life of discipline. Not just letting the day happen to you, but planning for blocks of time what you intend to get home. Should you plan every block of time? No, of course not.

No one can sustain that. Dads, one for you. Let me give you both sides of the same coin. First, Do not shield your daughters from deadlines, pressures, and high expectations. Do not shield your daughters.

Do not protect them from deadlines. They should have deadlines. From pressures. They should learn how to handle pressure. Do you know what the life of a homeschooling mom is?

Are you trying to raise a homeschooling mom? I am. They have deadlines, they have pressures, they have high expectations. Do not shield your daughters from these things now. The other side of the coin.

Make sure your daughters have an escalating level of deadlines, pressure, and high expectations. Escalating, meaning we don't start them out at number 10 on the dial, we start them out on number 2 on the dial, and we edge it up to 2.5, to 3, to 5, to 7, so that when they're homeschooling mothers, if God should bring them into that kind of life, they can take ten. Homeschooling mothers have ten sometimes on all those things. Make sure your daughters have meaningful things to accomplish. I hate busy work.

Meaningful things to accomplish. Those can be simple things. Those can be mundane things. But make them meaningful things. Don't make it up open-ended, meaning put a deadline on those things, and reject substandard work.

This needs to be part of your vocabulary with your daughters. That doesn't cut it. Try again. You need to reject substandard work. So that They learn to do really good work.

Does that mean that we always are in that mode? Oh, heaven help us. Thank God that God isn't always in that mode with me, that there's so much grace that I receive We need to be able to extend the grace that we receive but that doesn't mean that there's never a time to say That works not good enough. It needs to be redone Let's pray and then I'll give you questions to talk about God I pray that the daughters under this tent would not grow into women at ease and complacent daughters, but that you would help them to cultivate a diligent life of living for you. Help them Lord.

Help us help them. Help these fathers. Help me. A man with five daughters, help me to help my daughters with these things. I pray in Jesus' name, amen.

Two questions and then you have five minutes to discuss them. Number one, what time should I normally wake up and go to bed? Some days you'll wake up at a different time, some days you'll go to bed at a different time, but What time should I normally wake up and go to bed? I put it down. Two.

What tool or tools am I going to use to make a list for the day and allocate my time? That's the second question. What tool or tools am I going to use to make a list for the day and allocate my time? That's the second question. What tool or tools am I going to use to make a list for the day and allocate my time?

So this could be really simple or more complex. This could be as simple as I'm putting a pad of sticky notes by the bed with a pen so I can make a sticky note for the day of the top three or four things that are important for me to get done today and before I go to bed I'm going to do it. That's as simple as it gets. We all have an access to a pad of sticky notes and a pen And in the age of the smartphone, you can have it as complicated as you want. I actually, so you know how I do it.

An iPad will let you do a split screen. So I have my list on the right third of the screen. Every day I make the list before the next day. So when I wake up in the morning there's no mystery to me about the important things I need to get accomplished. It's on the third of my screen.

The other two thirds are my calendar where I allocate blocks of time. So that's how I do it. You find a way to do it.