Isaiah 30:15-16 - Resting & Strength

The people of Israel were panicked when they were faced with various enemies: Philistines, Ammonites, Arameans, Assyrians. Those don't sound very scary to us because we don't read about them in the news. But it would be akin to threats from North Korea, China, Russia... you get the picture.

Sometimes the Israelites tried to appease these enemies and buy them off. But then they started considering an alliance with Egypt. Egypt: the very country that they had escaped centuries before. But they thought their salvation was found in Egyptian troops, Egyptian chariots, and Egyptian horses. 

The prophet Isaiah tried to reason with them:

15 This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: “Only in returning to me and resting in me will you be saved. In quietness and confidence is your strength. But you would have none of it. 16 You said, ‘No, we will get our help from Egypt. They will give us swift horses for riding into battle.’ But the only swiftness you are going to see is the swiftness of your enemies chasing you! (Isaiah 30:15-16, New Living Translation, 2015)

When we face obstacles and opposition, it is easy to panic. To look in all the wrong places for help. But God says, "in quietness and confidence is your strength."

What's the source of such quiet fortitude? It's not merely drawing on inward reserves. God spelled it out clearly:

"Only in returning to me"... that's the basic definition of repentance.

"... in returning to me and resting in me..." Faith always leads to action, but sometimes it is the the act of choosing to rest in God's sovereignty.

In this, "in Me," God says, "you will be saved."

Lord, when confronted by those things that would attack our hearts, and we're tempted to run off to find solutions that seem so dependable, calm our hearts to rest in You and let you be our strength. Amen