He provides. He wants to show us mercy. He is just and compassionate. He heals. Return and rest in Him. He is our quiet confidence. He doesn’t go back on His word. No one is Him. He protects, provides, and defends us. Our hope is in Him. We must boldly declare it.
18 Therefore the Lord is waiting to show you mercy,
and is rising up to show you compassion,
for the Lord is a just God.
All who wait patiently for him are happy. – Isaiah 30:18
“In repentance and rest is your salvation. In quietness and trust is your strength.” Even in the days before Jesus, people were trying to rely on their own strength and what they did to earn their way into heaven and gods graces! It didn’t work then and it doesn’t work now! That’s something I need a constant reminder of. God is found in quiet spaces and rest.
18Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you,
and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you.
For the Lord is a God of justice;
blessed are all those who wait for him. -ellie
The way of salvation is in returning and rest. Quietness and trust. The Lord requires no gifts of treasures like Judah is carting off to Egypt in exchange for their help. We need simply rest and trust in the Lord with a humble and meek Spirit, recognizing His almighty ability and compassionate willingness to save.
What I got out of the readings:
Judah didn’t look to God for help, they did their own thing in trying to make a treaty with Egypt. God wants us to seek Him first instead of trying to solve our problems on our own, because what we think of as being best may be completely opposite in God’s eyes. We should be asking God to reveal His way, and trust that way is what is ultimately best for us.
Isaiah is so tough for me to read, friends. I know the Bible is not all comfort and joy, but the the description of all the destruction of people is severely breaking my heart. I’m not understanding why it has to be so.
I don’t think my comment from earlier this week posted but I’ve been using a podcast called the Bible Recap by D-Group which has helped me a lot with some of the harder readings, especially Isaiah. The podcasts are brief (5-10 minutes) and Tara Lee Cobble (the author/speaker/podcaster) gives some really helpful context info as well as explanations and applications!
Something I’ve been doing is marking out the portions where God promises deliverance if they will turn to him, or a remnant that He will save regardless of their faithlessness. You’ll visually see then that it is nearly half the passages! Even though Judah continues to rebel and is unworthy of such mercy (just as we are) God intervenes in compassion and hope.
Sharon makes a wonderful point–all through these Old Testament books we’ve been reading, we see time after time after time that the Lord offers mercy, undeserved forgiveness, and faithful love to his people, but time after time they turn to other nations, idols, or their own plans to save themselves. I think the destruction of people is God’s reminder that there is a judgment coming–his mercy will one day no longer be offered to those who rejected it time after time. We are God’s creation, and he is free to do with us as he chooses. He is holy and cannot tolerate sin, but he is withholding final judgment so that more people can be saved. But do not forget that the end will one day come, and those who have thumbed their nose at his mercy will one day pay the price.
I’m answering this way behind, but I hope this may still be useful. As sinful creatures, we cannot exist before a holy and perfect God. That’s why Jesus had to die for us. If God did not punish sin with destruction, it would cheapen the grace of God’s gift in Jesus. He would have sent Jesus for no reason.
However, with that being said, I think it is right for your heart to break over those who experience this suffering and condemnation. That sorrow for the judgment of the lost should then turn us all to prayer. Let us pray for our neighbors, coworkers, and family members who do not know Christ. Let us pray that their sufferings on the Earth soften their hearts and open their eyes to Jesus’s perfect love before the day of final judgment arrives.
5 For we have found this man a real pest and a fellow who stirs up dissension among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes.
Lord that I may be a real pest proclaiming the glory of God!
18 Therefore the Lord is waiting to show you mercy,
and is rising up to show you compassion,
for the Lord is a just God. Isaiah 30:18
How often we forget. He is waiting. He is rising up. He loves when His lost turn and repent and realize He was there all along. God help me to live out this Truth so that they might turn and turn soon.
When we’ve been running on our own, trying to work out our own solutions, we eventually run out of steam, run out of answers. And God is there waiting. Waiting to be gracious to us.
17 A thousand shall flee at the threat of one;
at the threat of five you shall flee,
till you are left
like a flagstaff on the top of a mountain,
like a signal on a hill. 18 Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you,
and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you.
For the Lord is a God of justice;
blessed are all those who wait for him. Isaiah 30
1 Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in the multitude of their chariots and in the great strength of their horsemen, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel, or seek help from the Lord.
Too often I look for reassurance and security from mortal earthly things when I should always and firstly look to the Lord. It is confounding to me how I still do this on hard days and in tough seasons even though I know they are not eternal. Only after being failed by these things do I finally turn to the Lord for my comfort and peace. I’m reminded of a line from the hymn What a Friend We Have in Jesus “…oh what peace we often forfeit, oh what needless pain we bear all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.” Praying for the Lord to grow my trust and fix my gaze on Him alone. Lord, remind me to call on you first. Help me to remember that you are the only one who will never fail and never abandon. Thank You for your constant presence even when I wander and clutch to earthly securities.
[Isaiah 30:20] And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself anymore, but your eyes shall see your Teacher.
I love seeing the heart of God in this passage. If you didn’t, take the time to go back and look for it. Immediately my heart thinks of how they would see Jesus, and then in the verse following, receive the Holy Spirit.
I am just comforted by the character of God, for he is God of all, and does bring pain, but it’s not for pain’s sake, and ultimately, he is love, and loved us before we loved him.
God made a way; he made the sacrifice.
All glory and praise be to God forever. Amen!
No matter when we veer off of our path He’s set for us, God is always there! As a control freak myself, I have had to take a moment and ask “Wait, is this Your will or mine?” before making a decision on something. Even with our move, we’ve taken steps one at a time to let our decisions not be made abruptly … And even on my own journey I’m reminded when we stop for a moment He’s always there to reel us back into his reality! Isaiah 30:18 Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you,
and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you.
For the Lord is a God of justice;
blessed are all those who wait for him.
He provides. He wants to show us mercy. He is just and compassionate. He heals. Return and rest in Him. He is our quiet confidence. He doesn’t go back on His word. No one is Him. He protects, provides, and defends us. Our hope is in Him. We must boldly declare it.
❤️
❤️
❤️
✝️
18 Therefore the Lord is waiting to show you mercy,
and is rising up to show you compassion,
for the Lord is a just God.
All who wait patiently for him are happy. – Isaiah 30:18
❤️
I can hardly believe Paul was imprisoned for 2 years for the simple acts he did. What an endurance race indeed.
✅
✝️
“In repentance and rest is your salvation. In quietness and trust is your strength.” Even in the days before Jesus, people were trying to rely on their own strength and what they did to earn their way into heaven and gods graces! It didn’t work then and it doesn’t work now! That’s something I need a constant reminder of. God is found in quiet spaces and rest.
18Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you,
and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you.
For the Lord is a God of justice;
blessed are all those who wait for him. -ellie
The way of salvation is in returning and rest. Quietness and trust. The Lord requires no gifts of treasures like Judah is carting off to Egypt in exchange for their help. We need simply rest and trust in the Lord with a humble and meek Spirit, recognizing His almighty ability and compassionate willingness to save.
What I got out of the readings:
Judah didn’t look to God for help, they did their own thing in trying to make a treaty with Egypt. God wants us to seek Him first instead of trying to solve our problems on our own, because what we think of as being best may be completely opposite in God’s eyes. We should be asking God to reveal His way, and trust that way is what is ultimately best for us.
Isaiah is so tough for me to read, friends. I know the Bible is not all comfort and joy, but the the description of all the destruction of people is severely breaking my heart. I’m not understanding why it has to be so.
I don’t think my comment from earlier this week posted but I’ve been using a podcast called the Bible Recap by D-Group which has helped me a lot with some of the harder readings, especially Isaiah. The podcasts are brief (5-10 minutes) and Tara Lee Cobble (the author/speaker/podcaster) gives some really helpful context info as well as explanations and applications!
Something I’ve been doing is marking out the portions where God promises deliverance if they will turn to him, or a remnant that He will save regardless of their faithlessness. You’ll visually see then that it is nearly half the passages! Even though Judah continues to rebel and is unworthy of such mercy (just as we are) God intervenes in compassion and hope.
Sharon makes a wonderful point–all through these Old Testament books we’ve been reading, we see time after time after time that the Lord offers mercy, undeserved forgiveness, and faithful love to his people, but time after time they turn to other nations, idols, or their own plans to save themselves. I think the destruction of people is God’s reminder that there is a judgment coming–his mercy will one day no longer be offered to those who rejected it time after time. We are God’s creation, and he is free to do with us as he chooses. He is holy and cannot tolerate sin, but he is withholding final judgment so that more people can be saved. But do not forget that the end will one day come, and those who have thumbed their nose at his mercy will one day pay the price.
I’m answering this way behind, but I hope this may still be useful. As sinful creatures, we cannot exist before a holy and perfect God. That’s why Jesus had to die for us. If God did not punish sin with destruction, it would cheapen the grace of God’s gift in Jesus. He would have sent Jesus for no reason.
However, with that being said, I think it is right for your heart to break over those who experience this suffering and condemnation. That sorrow for the judgment of the lost should then turn us all to prayer. Let us pray for our neighbors, coworkers, and family members who do not know Christ. Let us pray that their sufferings on the Earth soften their hearts and open their eyes to Jesus’s perfect love before the day of final judgment arrives.
5 For we have found this man a real pest and a fellow who stirs up dissension among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes.
Lord that I may be a real pest proclaiming the glory of God!
18 Therefore the Lord is waiting to show you mercy,
and is rising up to show you compassion,
for the Lord is a just God. Isaiah 30:18
How often we forget. He is waiting. He is rising up. He loves when His lost turn and repent and realize He was there all along. God help me to live out this Truth so that they might turn and turn soon.
When we’ve been running on our own, trying to work out our own solutions, we eventually run out of steam, run out of answers. And God is there waiting. Waiting to be gracious to us.
17 A thousand shall flee at the threat of one;
at the threat of five you shall flee,
till you are left
like a flagstaff on the top of a mountain,
like a signal on a hill. 18 Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you,
and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you.
For the Lord is a God of justice;
blessed are all those who wait for him. Isaiah 30
Whoah, the journey of Paul is so incredible! I love reading each day about the trials he endures to tell his faith.
30:15
“In repentance and rest is your salvation,
in quietness and trust is your strength”
His love is unfathomable, Grace unyielding, ceaseless in Peace and there is no earning nor striving EVER.
He loves because He is!
Lord guide me to find rest in You. Still my mind, body and soul to recieve You!
Amen.
1 Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in the multitude of their chariots and in the great strength of their horsemen, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel, or seek help from the Lord.
Too often I look for reassurance and security from mortal earthly things when I should always and firstly look to the Lord. It is confounding to me how I still do this on hard days and in tough seasons even though I know they are not eternal. Only after being failed by these things do I finally turn to the Lord for my comfort and peace. I’m reminded of a line from the hymn What a Friend We Have in Jesus “…oh what peace we often forfeit, oh what needless pain we bear all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.” Praying for the Lord to grow my trust and fix my gaze on Him alone. Lord, remind me to call on you first. Help me to remember that you are the only one who will never fail and never abandon. Thank You for your constant presence even when I wander and clutch to earthly securities.
Amen.
[Isaiah 30:20] And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself anymore, but your eyes shall see your Teacher.
I love seeing the heart of God in this passage. If you didn’t, take the time to go back and look for it. Immediately my heart thinks of how they would see Jesus, and then in the verse following, receive the Holy Spirit.
I am just comforted by the character of God, for he is God of all, and does bring pain, but it’s not for pain’s sake, and ultimately, he is love, and loved us before we loved him.
God made a way; he made the sacrifice.
All glory and praise be to God forever. Amen!
Amen.
No matter when we veer off of our path He’s set for us, God is always there! As a control freak myself, I have had to take a moment and ask “Wait, is this Your will or mine?” before making a decision on something. Even with our move, we’ve taken steps one at a time to let our decisions not be made abruptly … And even on my own journey I’m reminded when we stop for a moment He’s always there to reel us back into his reality! Isaiah 30:18 Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you,
and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you.
For the Lord is a God of justice;
blessed are all those who wait for him.
Love that verse!
Katrina,
Thanks for allowing Holy Spirit to speak these encouraging through you, amen!
21 And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.
This is one of my life verses!
Nicole,
One of my favorite verses as well