“Give us no more visions of what is right!  Tell us pleasant things, prophesy illusions.  Leave this way, get off this path, and stop confronting us with the Holy One of Israel!”

Therefore this is what 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.”  Isaiah 30

This is a very powerful word from God. It cuts to the quick of our old nature that protests – “Stop confronting us with the Holy One of Israel.” In other words, stop preaching to me!  If you must, please, just tell me about things I want to hear, pleasant things that do not call for any change in my heart and attitude, nice things that have nothing to do with God. Tickle my ears with fanciful things, warm “fuzzies.” I love sugar coated illusions, sweet lies.  By all means, stop talking about God and what his will is.  I would rather consider culture, politics, economics and proud nationalism that gives little thought to God Almighty.

The blessed Holy Spirit keeps reminding us of the way of peace, the highway of holiness, the safe place to walk. But the enemy wants to get us on to other paths that promise prosperity without repentance and faith.  I am pleased that I am a citizen of the most powerful and most prosperous nation of the world today. In fact our nation has become so powerful and self-important that it is tempted to simply push God aside or make him manageable.  As Isaiah says, beware of Satan who rages, “Get off this path.”  In other words, “Get out of our way, God!” It is good to recall that this was the original sin, pushing God aside to do what we wanted to do, eat forbidden fruit.

The Word of God through Isaiah says, “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength.”  As this season of Lent proceeds I find huge comfort in this counsel – to repent of striving and to rest in my Jesus’ earned salvation.  The strength we receive from this enables us to be settled, to be quiet in spirit, trusting our Lord to settle our spirits on Him.  And with that love – to love our world and to desire that all be saved.