Isaiah Chapter 30: Verses 15-16(NIV)
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!
Matthew Chapter 11: Verses 28-30 (NIV)
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
In the preceding chapter in Isaiah and in the beginning of chapter 30, we read of how the Israelites turned their backs on God, and even when they were in trouble, they were rushing around trying to fix things for themselves, or by entering into treaties with other lands. They were in fact looking everywhere except to God. God in His mercy offers them the solution, turn away from your sin, come back to me, and I will sort everything out. Spend time with me and trust me, and you will regain your strength. But sadly, they would have none of it, still choosing to rush hither and thither in a panic.
We can be guilty of rushing about trying to sort things out. Whilst we may not necessarily have turned our backs on God in the way that the Israelites did, we may still find ourselves looking for solutions to our problems and wondering what to do. Jesus knew that when He spoke to His disciples. His advice was the same as God had given Israel. Stop rushing around, don’t panic and come to me. You are not meant to be doing this by yourself. We are meant to be yoked together with Christ and letting Him share the load. He can take the weight of it, but we need to let Him.
We need to learn from Israel’s mistakes and learn from Jesus as He told us to. He hasn’t lost control and therefore we don’t have to panic. Therefore, it is possible to rest in Him and gain the strength that we need to walk in whatever circumstances we find ourselves in. That isn’t always easy for those whose first response in difficult situations is, right what do I need to do? The answer is go to the Lord, and wait for Him to tell us what to do next.
Dear Lord,
Thank You for the reminder that in times of worry when we can be guilty of panicking, You want us to come to You, take a deep breath and rest in Your presence. Far better place to be than rushing around and getting stressed. Help me to remember who it is I am meant to be yoked to when I try to shoulder heavy burdens by myself. I ask in Jesus’ Name. Amen.