In Quietness and Confidence

In Quietness and Confidence

Isaiah 30:15 (NASB)

15 “For thus the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, has said, “In repentance and rest you will be saved, In quietness and trust is your strength." But you were not willing.”

    Isaiah was dismayed when he saw the royal delegation leaving Jerusalem for Egypt. King Hezekiah was sending envoys to form a military alliance instead of trusting God’s protection. Hezekiah hadn’t asked Isaiah’s advice, nor had he sought God’s counsel (Isaiah 30:2). Instead, the king’s diplomats treaded through the desert (verse 6) on a mission doomed to failure (verse 7). Isaiah advised the caravan to turn back, saying: “In returning or repentance and rest you shall be saved.” He told them to turn around and return home, to rest in God’s protection, to quiet themselves, and to trust God’s promises. That, he said, would be their strength (verse 15). That’s our strength too.

    We can’t solve all the problems facing us; and sometimes the more we try, the deeper the mess. We find little help in “Egypt.” But in returning to the Lord and resting in Him, we find deliverance. And in quietness and confidence we find strength.

    George Wilson, Edinburgh preacher of an earlier era, said, “This quietness and confidence is… an abiding frame of mind, an all-enduring and an all-pervading spirit…. Indeed it’s priceless value lies in the fact that it pervades the anxious activities of life.”