“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.”” Isaiah 30:15a ESV
Reflection: how do you know you trust in the Lord?
We attended the celebration of a great man’s life yesterday, who went home to be with the Lord in the prime of his life. He had built a very successful business from ground up, the largest of its kind in the United States, and had even started to expand internationally. And while much could have been said about his amazing business successes, the testimonies about his life shared from family, friends, colleagues, employees and business partners painted a different picture of this man. It wasn’t about business expansion, growth and financial results, but it was all about how he had touched people’s lives. How he believed in people, in the “underdog”, helping them to succeed in life and in business. How he saw his employees and partners as family, always encouraging everyone around him to live boldly. But there was one characteristic in particular that struck me as I was listening. This man was quiet and strong in the midst of the storms of business and life. And for those who were fortunate to know him and work with him, they called him a “quiet bull”, because of his inner strength and resilience.
So where did this inner strength, this quiet confidence come from?
We read today of the Lord saying to His children, “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.”” Isaiah 30:15a ESV. We can think of when He says “In returning” to mean “turn around” or “repent”, or even“come back home”. The people were so lost, ending up in all sorts of trouble away from God. The Lord longed to help them, to show them grace, to fight the battles for them, but they would not. We read a bit further down “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.” Isaiah 30:18 ESV
We see a theme here, of what the Lord is asking of his people. To return to Him, to rest with and trust in Him, and therefore “quietness and in trust shall be your strength.” Ah, there is the connection of this inner strength we heard about in the life celebration we had attended yesterday. His mother shared how he had given his life to Jesus Christ when he was around 12 years old. This wasn’t just some words he had repeated. No, something had happened in his heart. And as a result, he had been “on fire” for the Lord and even become an evangelist for his neighborhood buddies back then. And looking at how he had continued to impact people for good throughout his life, we see the changed heart. Paul wrote famously “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9b ESV. He knew his Father, wanted to emulate Him, and also knew that He was so much bigger than his problems, allowing him to rest, giving him this quiet confidence.
We learn from one of the giants in Bible history, king David, who not only had worldly power and success, but was a man after God’s own heart. He found favor with God, much because he took refuge in the Lord. He wrote extensively about his trust in and reliance on God throughout his psalms, such as “Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!”Psalm 27:14 ESV. ““Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”” Psalm 46:10 ESV. “For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him.” Psalm 62:5 ESV
Is worry about what is going on in your life consuming you? At work? At home? Perhaps even what is happening in the world? The Lord said our strength comes from trusting in Him. Jesus said, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.””Matthew 11:28-30 ESV.