“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…” (Isaiah 30:15, ESV)
During the early days of Isaiah the prophet, when the above words were first uttered, the people of Israel had a chance to avert disaster. Evil was rampant in the Holy Land. Prophets and priests had become worldly, sinful, and self-serving. As the land devolved into violence, unfaithfulness, idolatry, and atheism, Isaiah sought a message from God Almighty. The Lord responded to Isaiah and to the people of Israel with these words: “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.” (Isaiah 30:15). How did the Israelites react to this message from God? That is given in the last section of this scripture. The people of Israel “were unwilling” to return to God, trust in God, and rest in the strength of God.
I believe that God Almighty speaks these same words of salvation given Isaiah in the scripture above to each and every person in every age. Some are willing to listen. Most are unwilling.
God desires all people to “return” to faithfulness by giving up sin. God desires to “save” every soul. God wants people to “trust” in His will, relying on His judgment. So many people refuse to listen to God. Instead, they follow the advice of the age, the wisdom of humanity, the reasoning of those in power. By refusing to acknowledge that God’s ways are above human reasoning, that God’s love for humanity is greater than human generosity, and that God’s wisdom is far above worldly wisdom, people falter and fail throughout a lifetime. They are enamored by fads and are swayed by manipulators. They are “tossed to and fro” from one worldly ideal to another. The Apostle Paul saw this in his day and age when he told the Ephesians that they need to “attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood…. so that [they] may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.” (Ephesians 4:13–14, ESV). We need connection with God. We need godly wisdom. We need forgiveness and grace. We need our Savior and Lord. Nothing else will “save” us.
Turning to the scripture for today, I want you to focus your attention on two words often not associated with being saved by God: “rest” and “quietness”. Most people would say that salvation comes when people DO something for God. They confess their sin. They say the sinner’s prayer. They pray with their rosary. They seek God. They go to worship. They get baptized. They join a church. They bring tithes and offerings to God. They do mission work. All these things are part of faith. However, what is often missing in all this work for God is “rest” and “quietness”. Why did God want the sinful Israelites to offer up rest and quietness as a part of returning to Him? So often it is because faithful people forget how godly are those holy moments of “rest” and “quietness”. In fact, I would proffer the idea that most people are so busy being religious that their quiet prayer time and tacit trust in the Lord goes utterly missing!
Being quiet before the Lord involves listening for God’s voice and heeding God Spirit. Holy quietness is an offering people can give to God in order to change their ways. Holy rest is often missing in the lives of the religious as well as the sinful. Is it missing in your relationship with God?
Jody was close to her mother. Jody and her mother would go shopping together, share phone calls every morning, and share hopes and fears. Jody was not afraid to shed a tear with her mother when everything went wrong, ask her mother for help when the kids were sick, or ask for advice about marriage or family issues. Jody’s mother was a loving, godly soul who wanted the best for her family. When Jody’s mother died, Jody went into an emotional tailspin.
For weeks after her mother died, Jody was inconsolable. She cried all the time. She would look at the phone and tear up, unable to chat with her mother about something important. Little things such as her mother’s favorite TV show or her mother’s kind of humor caused Jody to smile and then tear up.
Jody’s best friend advised Jody to see a grief counselor. Jody’s husband felt worthless as he couldn’t seem to help his wife during these hard times. As others offered advice or comfort, Jody just decided to quit crying, quit being sad, quit with the grief and get on with her life. Jody put a smile on her face, no matter how fake. She found that cleaning helped her cope, so she cleaned and cleaned until her hands were raw and her house was spotless. Jody told herself that her time of grief was over. She forced herself to just keep busy to compensate.
A year and a half later, Jody was sitting in a pew on Palm Sunday when suddenly, her eyes began to water. She thought to herself, “What is up with that?” It was the prayer that day that seemed to set something off in her. Inside her head, Jody stopped praying and just began to count to ten. She did this five times until the prayer finished. Over the next few weeks, Jody found little things bothering her. She found it best at these moments to count to ten over and over until the feelings just went away. Jody refused to open herself up to whatever was bothering her. Whenever Jody prayed before bed, she would start to cry, so she stopped praying. When Jody went to church, her eyes started watering within minutes of sitting in the pews, so she stopped attending worship. She didn’t want others to see her “weakness”, to ask her what was wrong, to make her think. She just wanted to be left alone. What Jody didn’t realize was that she was refusing to listen to God!
It was in holy “quietness” and “rest” that God was speaking more clearly to Jody. That’s why she teared up when she prayed or worshipped. That is why Jody would sob when reading scripture while thinking back on her past, focusing on the memories of her mother, or relishing happier days. She was still grieving her mother's death. Jody was fighting her grief, fearing the emotions. God wanted Jody to work through her grief and celebrate her mother’s life. It was in the moments of “quietness” and “rest” that God’s wishes became most apparent, that God’s love was pouring through for Jody.
When you practice holy “quietness” while praying, the Holy Spirit will often speak more clearly to you. Or… it might be that in those moments of holy “quietness” and “rest” that you are more attuned to God. Don’t neglect those holy moments of quiet and rest with God. Don’t overlook what you see, feel, and hear when alone in the Spirit!
Like the Israelites in the time of Isaiah, many people do not want to spend intimate, holy, quiet time with God. It will remind them what is needed. It will expose sin and hypocrisy. It will open the soul up to examination. It will open the floodgates of truth. Some people, especially sinful people, are afraid of quiet times with God. Some people would prefer to stay busy rather than work things out in their heart, mind, and soul. Rejecting holy quietness, the Israelites in the time of Isaiah were unwilling to change their ways. I hope you are always willing to align your soul with God.
Do not take for granted those holy moments of quietness and rest. They expose your true self and true faith. They are necessary elements of a holy life. They inspire love and grace and forgiveness. They nurture the soul. When you are one to one with God, what happens to you?
I believe that God Almighty speaks these same words of salvation given Isaiah in the scripture above to each and every person in every age. Some are willing to listen. Most are unwilling.
God desires all people to “return” to faithfulness by giving up sin. God desires to “save” every soul. God wants people to “trust” in His will, relying on His judgment. So many people refuse to listen to God. Instead, they follow the advice of the age, the wisdom of humanity, the reasoning of those in power. By refusing to acknowledge that God’s ways are above human reasoning, that God’s love for humanity is greater than human generosity, and that God’s wisdom is far above worldly wisdom, people falter and fail throughout a lifetime. They are enamored by fads and are swayed by manipulators. They are “tossed to and fro” from one worldly ideal to another. The Apostle Paul saw this in his day and age when he told the Ephesians that they need to “attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood…. so that [they] may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.” (Ephesians 4:13–14, ESV). We need connection with God. We need godly wisdom. We need forgiveness and grace. We need our Savior and Lord. Nothing else will “save” us.
Turning to the scripture for today, I want you to focus your attention on two words often not associated with being saved by God: “rest” and “quietness”. Most people would say that salvation comes when people DO something for God. They confess their sin. They say the sinner’s prayer. They pray with their rosary. They seek God. They go to worship. They get baptized. They join a church. They bring tithes and offerings to God. They do mission work. All these things are part of faith. However, what is often missing in all this work for God is “rest” and “quietness”. Why did God want the sinful Israelites to offer up rest and quietness as a part of returning to Him? So often it is because faithful people forget how godly are those holy moments of “rest” and “quietness”. In fact, I would proffer the idea that most people are so busy being religious that their quiet prayer time and tacit trust in the Lord goes utterly missing!
Being quiet before the Lord involves listening for God’s voice and heeding God Spirit. Holy quietness is an offering people can give to God in order to change their ways. Holy rest is often missing in the lives of the religious as well as the sinful. Is it missing in your relationship with God?
Jody was close to her mother. Jody and her mother would go shopping together, share phone calls every morning, and share hopes and fears. Jody was not afraid to shed a tear with her mother when everything went wrong, ask her mother for help when the kids were sick, or ask for advice about marriage or family issues. Jody’s mother was a loving, godly soul who wanted the best for her family. When Jody’s mother died, Jody went into an emotional tailspin.
For weeks after her mother died, Jody was inconsolable. She cried all the time. She would look at the phone and tear up, unable to chat with her mother about something important. Little things such as her mother’s favorite TV show or her mother’s kind of humor caused Jody to smile and then tear up.
Jody’s best friend advised Jody to see a grief counselor. Jody’s husband felt worthless as he couldn’t seem to help his wife during these hard times. As others offered advice or comfort, Jody just decided to quit crying, quit being sad, quit with the grief and get on with her life. Jody put a smile on her face, no matter how fake. She found that cleaning helped her cope, so she cleaned and cleaned until her hands were raw and her house was spotless. Jody told herself that her time of grief was over. She forced herself to just keep busy to compensate.
A year and a half later, Jody was sitting in a pew on Palm Sunday when suddenly, her eyes began to water. She thought to herself, “What is up with that?” It was the prayer that day that seemed to set something off in her. Inside her head, Jody stopped praying and just began to count to ten. She did this five times until the prayer finished. Over the next few weeks, Jody found little things bothering her. She found it best at these moments to count to ten over and over until the feelings just went away. Jody refused to open herself up to whatever was bothering her. Whenever Jody prayed before bed, she would start to cry, so she stopped praying. When Jody went to church, her eyes started watering within minutes of sitting in the pews, so she stopped attending worship. She didn’t want others to see her “weakness”, to ask her what was wrong, to make her think. She just wanted to be left alone. What Jody didn’t realize was that she was refusing to listen to God!
It was in holy “quietness” and “rest” that God was speaking more clearly to Jody. That’s why she teared up when she prayed or worshipped. That is why Jody would sob when reading scripture while thinking back on her past, focusing on the memories of her mother, or relishing happier days. She was still grieving her mother's death. Jody was fighting her grief, fearing the emotions. God wanted Jody to work through her grief and celebrate her mother’s life. It was in the moments of “quietness” and “rest” that God’s wishes became most apparent, that God’s love was pouring through for Jody.
When you practice holy “quietness” while praying, the Holy Spirit will often speak more clearly to you. Or… it might be that in those moments of holy “quietness” and “rest” that you are more attuned to God. Don’t neglect those holy moments of quiet and rest with God. Don’t overlook what you see, feel, and hear when alone in the Spirit!
Like the Israelites in the time of Isaiah, many people do not want to spend intimate, holy, quiet time with God. It will remind them what is needed. It will expose sin and hypocrisy. It will open the soul up to examination. It will open the floodgates of truth. Some people, especially sinful people, are afraid of quiet times with God. Some people would prefer to stay busy rather than work things out in their heart, mind, and soul. Rejecting holy quietness, the Israelites in the time of Isaiah were unwilling to change their ways. I hope you are always willing to align your soul with God.
Do not take for granted those holy moments of quietness and rest. They expose your true self and true faith. They are necessary elements of a holy life. They inspire love and grace and forgiveness. They nurture the soul. When you are one to one with God, what happens to you?