Quietness and Rest (Part II)

For thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel:

“In returning and rest you shall be saved;
In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.”
But you would not,
And you said, “No, for we will flee on horses”—
Therefore you shall flee!
And, “We will ride on swift horses”—
Therefore those who pursue you shall be swift! Isaiah 30:15-16

In the last devotional, I shared that God spoke to the Jewish people about returning to Him and resting in Him to be saved from the hands of the Assyrians. He told them that this should be their strategy for deliverance. However, the Jewish people did not want to have anything to do with that kind of strategy. These people were fearful of the Assyrians. They were too anxious to relax and be still. Consequently, they looked to Egyptians for support and help to protect them during this time. Although the Egyptians may have had natural strength, they were not Godly people and the Jewish people had to compromise their own beliefs to rely on pagan people.

Egypt is a symbol of past bondage and our carnal strength. We all have had our own versions of Egypt that we had to flee from in order to experience the freedom that Jesus bought for us. When things are going well spiritually, most of us don’t want to return to Egypt. However, under the pressure of life and circumstances, we begin to look back to our natural strength and reasoning to solve problems.

In our points of desperation, we may replace one version of Egypt to an updated version of another form of Egypt. Our addiction to bad relationships in the past, may have changed faces. Now, we have relationships with Godly people, but we still have ungodly expectations from them. We may have forsaken a demanding career as a form of identity, but we now found a demanding ministry or hobby that makes us feel needed and important. The pattern is that we are looking for carnal means as an answer to the dilemmas of life!

Have you been able to make time to be quiet and rest in the Lord? Where are you looking for your deliverance from your situation? As the weekend approaches, it is a good time to carve out sometime and settle down your heart and mind before the Lord! Take time to be quiet and rest in His presence. We don’t have to have all the answers, but we can look to the One who does! The Lord is our deliverer!