LEARNING DAILY

 

Isaiah 30:15, For thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: “In returning and rest shall you be saved; in quietness and confidence shall be your strength.”  But you would not (New King James Version)

 

I have been studying the book of Isaiah; it was not until chapter 30 that I decided to mark some things to use in the blog. 

 

Israel is about to be invaded by the Assyrian King Sennacherib.  This was God’s judgment upon the people of Israel because warning after warning had not brought repentance; the people had continued in their idol worship and disobedience.  Read Isaiah 30:1, “Woe to the rebellious children” says the Lord, who take counsel, but not from Me, and who devise plans, but not my Spirit, that they may add sin to sin”.  The leadership of Israel chose to find help from the Egyptians (symbolic of the world philosophies) and not God.  Did Israel not know that God knew everything they were doing? 

 

Chapter 30 of Isaiah is about the pointless confidence Israel placed in an alliance with Egypt. The people did not want to hear the prophetic words of Isaiah because they did not want to hear words that would threaten their sinful lifestyle.  Instead, they desired to hear encouraging and pleasant messages that did offend them.  Are we much different today?  Paul wrote that in the last days people would reject messages that proclaimed truth and would find those preachers that would tickle their ears by preaching things they wanted to hear.  Those would be messages that were pleasing because they did not reveal their sinful and worldly lifestyle.  We are there!

 

Isaiah 30:15 (above) is a word to return to God to find rest and confidence.  David Jeremiah gives this word, “Sometimes God lets us run the course of our own sufficiency until we have proven, not only to ourselves but to everybody else, that we cannot do it on our own.”  God says to us like He did to Isaiah that quietness and confidence (in the Lord) shall be our strength.  Quietness refers to stopping our activity and to just seek the Lord in order to hear what His desire is.  Psalm 46:10 tells us to, ”Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”  Too often it is believed that God will only be found if we do all sorts of activity; no, it is in the silence and stillness that we hear His voice.  It is when we declare that we are unable to do something on our own and that we need Him that we gain strength to accomplish the task.  Cease striving and put your confidence in God!

 

Read a little further in this chapter and see that God’s desire is to be gracious to His people – you and me!  It is His desire to pour out blessings to all who wait upon Him, who long for His righteousness and walk upon the narrow way.  God is patient, waiting for us to come to Him to direct our lives; turn away from seeking help from everywhere else but Him. Isaiah 30:18 ends this way, ”blessed are those who wait for Him.” Seek Him in quiet confidence that He hears you, loves you, desires to bless you; then wait upon Him.