Frantic Flight or Quiet Trust?
Today’s reading: Isaiah 28:1-30:33
My selection: Isaiah 30:15-16
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.
My reflections: In chapters 28-30, Isaiah gives a litany of the evils of the people of Israel and Judah. God has been merciful to them. He has promised them salvation and strength conditioned upon their returning to Him, but they stubbornly want to fix their own problems. They will get their own horses to escape their enemies. But it won’t work. They will be devastated by minimal opposition. They will be left abandoned and alone. Verse 17 continues,
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.
The promise is still true “in returning and rest you shall be saved, in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.” Where do you find salvation and strength today? In frantic self-effort or in quiet trust in the Lord?
My challenge: Trust in the One whom God has laid for the foundation and cornerstone, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is Savior and Lord who alone can save all who trust in Him. [Isaiah 28:16; Acts 4:11]
Tomorrow’s reading: Isaiah 31:1-35:10