Quietness

“In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength” (Isaiah 30:15).
“In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.” Eight words. Two qualities. One result. This is how to decode life. When we are rattled we can become loud. When we become loud and rattled, we’re weak. No wonder the world is in the state of confusion as it is today. A heavy truck rattles, an unlatched gate beats against the gate post, but a silent river runs deep, and a quiet and confident person stands out like a giant tree among the pines.

What is the tale behind the text? What did the prophet’s pen mean as he wrote? Isaiah saw an envoy of men headed down to Egypt to broker help. Israel was afraid of the impending invasion of different countries. Isaiah told the people in his sermon that God owned them and cared for them. He said to them to return back to their Creator, Redeemer and He would watch for them. Isaiah demonstrated, “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength.”

The last phrase of the sentence is stunning–“but you would have none of it.” The people of Israel would not listen to the “seer”. They rejected God’s vision for safety and security, for they were hell-bent on their own agenda.

God has spoken these words to our nation and to our souls. He promises quietness and rest if we would repent and return. To rest in Him is our hope, to trust in Him is our strength, and to turn back to Him is to find quietness for our souls. Quietness is horizontal; it’s our attitude toward circumstances and difficulty. Confidence is vertical; it’s our trust in God. When the horizontal and the vertical come together, it becomes our inward strength.

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    The eruption could be predicted for 12:11 p.m. But it didn’t occur until 12:18 p.m. The one predicted for 2:46 p.m. jumped the gun at 2:38 p.m. The problem was that underground shifts by minor earthquakes occurred, plus vandalism by visitors. The “Tommy Tourists” would come by and throw things into the geyser’s hole, from chicken bones to underwear. What?
    Most of us have had something or someone that was kind of our “Old Faithful”, but they became “Old Unpredictable.” It might have been a job that you used to have and depended upon for a long time. Or it could have been a mate that took off and left you holding air and nothing but hopelessness. Maybe it was your parents’ marriage that hurt you deeply that caused a rift for your growing up days.
    Maybe your church or your spiritual leaders have let you down and they were once your “Old Faithful.” It hurts when an “Old Faithful” isn’t anymore. It leaves us disoriented, and afraid, and even unsure of ourselves or unsure of others. Our future can seem so drear and so uncertain. But don’t let it bring you down. While others let you down, you don’t have to go down.
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    “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

    The fear of the Lord is the glue that holds a society together.  The fear of the Lord is the safety net that keeps a nation from falling into anarchy and great chaos.  And for the most part, unfortunately, we have lost the fear of the Lord in our nation.

    Here is a story of a public school teacher who retired early. When asked why, she responded:

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    In Deuteronomy 6, fathers are instructed to teach their children the fear of the Lord.  How does a child learn the fear of the Lord?  This may surprise you, but a child learns the fear of the Lord by first experiencing the fear of a father.  They should fear their father in the biblical sense.  If a child never learns to “fear” his earthly father, then how is he ever going to learn to “fear” his Heavenly Father?

    Make no mistake about it.  We had a lot of fun with our dad.  And we knew that our dad loved us.  We didn’t shake when he walked into the room with fear, or even fear that he might lose control.  He did not beat us and he didn’t go into rages.  He was much in control, but he meant what he said.  There were consequences if not followed through.  They were “Meaningful Consequences.”  And those consequences had the effect of making you avoid the same behavior in the future.

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    “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock” (Matthew 7:24).

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        Who does not make it in the Christian warfare and walk? In short, those who fail are the ones who focus on show. When it comes to famine (lean times in life), suffering (hard times in life), the rough times (doesn’t seem to-let-up times in life), many look for the exit. Though it is rough, tough, and fisticuffs, God means for us to not look for the exit, but to stay the course. His desire is for us not to be all show and no go. In Texas they have a saying, “Big hat, no cattle.”  Build on the Rock of Jesus! STAY the course!

  • Time to Leave

    “And it was told Laban on the third day that Jacob was fled” (Genesis 31:22).

    Jacob’s father-in-law was a full-length mirrored-image of Jacob himself. Laban was a deceiver, a conniver, a cheat and he worshipped at the image of other gods (Genesis 31:10). Jacob was a deceiver, a conniver, a cheat, and he worshipped the true and living God, but he did not see himself as God saw him. So the Lord gave him a reality check for several years. Sometimes it takes a long time for people to get rid of themselves.

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  • A Personal Question About Danger

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    We have a work to do, a class to teach, people to reach, and others to minister God’s good hand. And we have a family to pray for, sons and daughters to love, and enemies to pour out God’s love upon. There is a world to reach, much money to give, prayers to pray, and God has it planned out for us. Let’s walk in the light while it is still day. Don’t fear the sound of Satan nor the breath of unbelievers.

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