Truths from Isaiah
I’ve been reading the book of Isaiah recently – it’s a book I had never spent much time with before, so each time I sit down for my morning Bible reading, I’m struck by a new nugget of truth from this incredible book.
Today I was hit again by the words of Isaiah in chapter 30, verse 15:
This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says:
“In repentance and rest is your salvation,
in quietness and trust is your strength…”
My mind is busy and full, often times flighty, jumping from thought to thought. And this happens all day long – from the second I’m awake until I fall into bed at night (only to rehash and rethink things in the dark till I fall asleep). So as much as I adore the stillness of our little current rental home in a quiet neighborhood, as much as I love and ache for a simple, quiet life – I’d be lying if I said I truly and constantly felt that stillness in my heart.
There are 2 “action-oriented” words in this verse: repentance and trust. Repentance can be seen as a 180-degree turn away from your sin and wrong-minded thinking – a choice against doing that again. And trust – that’s not a passive sentiment. I’ll be fully honest – trust is a hard one for me. I envision trust as the act of reaching my little (ahem, controlling) hand up to meet and fold it into the hand of the One who is much stronger than me. He’s the only one who can lift me up out of my current troubles and sin-darkened fears. Why is it so hard for us to trust our all-powerful, all-knowing, loving Creator God? Because our minds are not quiet, resting in His promises. Our minds are consumed by the worries of this world. When we let those voices get louder than the voice of our God, we lose the ability to fully hear Him.
The other two words, rest and quietness, have implications of their own. “Rest” implies that one is not constantly striving to achieve for oneself. I don’t necessarily believe that rest in this case means you sit and do nothing. Rest is a heart-state – our soul can be at rest, at peace, while we work for the glory of God. And the way I hope to work “quietness” into my heart? I must counter thoughts of worry and negativity with thoughts of gratitude. Expressing thanks for what God has given us, what He has created – and what He has done for us…that, my friends, is a game-changer.
How do you strive to live out this verse in your life? How does this passage speak to you where you’re at right now? Let’s encourage each other!
My mind feels like yours. Flighty and constantly jumping from thought to thought. It drives me crazy sometimes. A lot of times my thoughts are worries and negative thinking. Thank you for the reminder to counter those thoughts with gratitude and praise. I’m going to work on that today!
🙂 I’m glad to find someone else like me, Sky! Yeah, it can be so hard to keep our minds focused on our Savior. I totally can relate to the worries and negative thinking. Let’s counter those with gratitude!
Thank you for this post. I tend to let my mind wander too much. I cast my own stone when I sometimes let the cares of this world overwhelmed me. Your post has blessed me. This is one verse I need to read daily. A reminder and confirmation that I need to just rest on His promises and trust Him.
I’m so glad this post spoke to you! Thanks for your kind words. 🙂 I really need to read this verse daily, too! The whole “resting” part is difficult, but oh-so-worth-it in the end!
What a beautiful verse. I love that it doesn’t say “in working” is your salvation, or “in doing more stuff” is your salvation. But, simply giving my life over to the Lord in confession. He is so merciful! Even in my stubbornness! Thanks for sharing your insights. 🙂
Thank you, Keri!! I love the point you made – I struggle with that “staying busy” or “working harder” at my faith, when He just asks us to give our lives over to Him! 🙂