trust, don't rebel

 

For thus said the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, 

“In returning and rest you shall be saved; 

in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.”                                                                                                                   Isaiah 30:15

     The first thing I noticed about this chapter in Isaiah was the sheer rebellion of Israel. How they practically spit in God’s face by going to Egypt for help. They weren’t just blind, they wanted to be blind. They refused to see the grace and wisdom God was offering them in His commands. Instead of relying on His direction, they decided to forge ahead in their own strength and power.

For they are a rebellious people,

lying children, children unwilling to hear

the instruction of the LORD;

who say to the seers, “Do not see,”

and to the prophets, "Do not prophesy to us what is right;

speak to us smooth things, prophesy illusions, leave the way, 

turn aside from the path, 

let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel.”                                                                             (Isaiah 30:10-11)

  What pride! To think that they could so blatantly reject God’s perfect ways! But wait, don’t we do the same thing?  Ok, well maybe not as flagrantly as Israel, but in our hearts? Our thoughts? Those small complaints that seem to always creep in? It’s still rebellion, whether it plays out in our actions or not. I don’t know about you, but I always like to have a handle on situations. If something is outside my control, I can start to panic. Doing things in our own “strength” comes so naturally. Sometimes, if our sinful flesh wants to go down a path that isn’t wise, we ignore the painful truths we need to hear and obey. In a sense, we say, “let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel.” Oh, it’s so easy to wander from Christ’s commands! To hold tightly to situations we so want to control, instead of giving them to the One who has always been in control. That’s the reality. God is control whether we see it or not. Just like the Israelites, we can be blind to the fact that we don’t have the power over situations that God does! In fact, we don’t have strength of our own. Now we come to the verse that really took hold of me in this chapter:

 For thus said the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel,
“In returning and rest you shall be saved;
in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.”                                                                                           (Isaiah 30:15)

    At first glance, this seems like it has to be a contradiction! How can we be saved in returning and rest? How can we have strength in quietness and trust? It all comes down to the truth that everything good comes from God, whether we want to acknowledge it or not.  He is the only One who saves. He is the only One who gives strength. So instead of thinking to ourselves, I just need to pull myself up by my bootstraps and take charge of this situation, we instead need to go to the Lord and trust His leading. That doesn’t mean that we just sit around and do nothing. Of course not! But the first step, before you take any other action in a situation, should be to lay it before the Lord and ask Him to lead you. To repent of any pride in thinking that your way is the best way. Because I can guarantee that what you think is best most likely isn’t. So instead of rebelling when things aren’t going how you want, trust that your loving Father knows exactly what He’s doing. What seems wrong, or hard, or second best to you is actually part of God's perfect plan. What a beautiful, unmovable truth to hold to when things seem to fall apart. Praise the Lord that our life doesn’t rest on our weakness, but on Christ’s strength!   

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. (2 Corinthians 12:9)