Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Isaiah+030

 

Chapter 30 (ESV)

¹⁵ 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.”
But you were unwilling, ¹⁶ and you said,
“No! We will flee upon horses”;
therefore you shall flee away;
and, “We will ride upon swift steeds”;
therefore your pursuers shall be swift.
¹⁷ A thousand shall flee at the threat of one;
at the threat of five you shall flee,
till you are left
like a flagstaff on the top of a mountain,
like a signal on a hill.

¹⁸ Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you,
and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you.
For the Lord is a God of justice;
blessed are all those who wait for him.

 

REFLECTION:

1. Verse 15 urges Judah to rely on God completely as the alternative to frantic, anxious military and political manoeuvrings. Isaiah believes that trust in Jehovah God is the foundation of security.  All trust in armaments and alliances, is an act of mistrust and idolatry that will only lead to destruction.
2. The assurance of faith is the conviction that anxious self-securing does not work in the real world. God is calling us to “repent and rest, be quiet and trust” in order to be safe and well in the world.
3. Recall a time when you have experienced the kind of contentment verse 15 promises. Thank God for that gift, and pray that he will renew contentment in you.

 

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

 

HYMN:

In Quietness and Trust – youtu.be/SNOupeb9se4