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, but you would have none of it. You said, ‘No, we will flee on horses.’ Therefore you will flee! You said, ‘We will ride off on swift horses.’ Therefore your pursuers will be swift! A thousand will flee at the threat of one; at the threat of five you will all flee away, till you are left like a flagstaff on a mountaintop, like a banner on a hill.” Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him! Isa. 30:15-18
Dear heavenly Father, this Scripture is crammed full with your grace-fullness, in full view of our foolishness. You are the God who longs to be gracious to us, yet, foolishly, we resist.
There are times when “riding off on swift horses” does look like a great option—when the demands upon us seem to far outweigh the resources within us; when we reach our emotional limits and exhaust our mental reserves; when tiredness gives way to “attitude,” and patience gives way to pettiness. Even then, you woo us to yourself—especially then, we need you.
The call to repentance and rest, and quietness and trust, comes to us like a kiss from heaven. Father, we find great comfort in your pursuing love. You are the lover for which we most earnestly long. No one else can touch the deepest place in our hearts. Oh, for the strength of a heart at rest in you.
I’m not facing the enemies Israel confronted in Isaiah’s day. The Assyrian and Babylonian armies aren’t on the horizon. I need, again, to learn my limits. Help me say yes to the right things and no to the unnecessary things, Jesus. Help me reestablish the rhythms of a gospel-driven life.
I repent of letting needs dictate my pace. I repent of grabbing and trying to spin four more plates than you intend. I repent of not honoring Sabbath rest. I repent of doing more things for you than spending unrushed time with you.
Father, I choose to wait for you. As you “rise to show us compassion,” I will sit down, shut up, be still, and let you. So very Amen we pray, in Jesus mighty and merciful name.