Lent 2017 - Day 12 - Isaiah 22:22 Shall

"He shall open, and none shall shut; and He shall shut, and none shall open." Isaiah 22:22

There is comfort in this for me.  It reminds me of why I can trust.  When the Lord says He's doing something, it's done; no one can prevent it.

When the Lord decrees that a person will do something, it's done.  No one, no circumstances, can prevent someone from carrying out something God decreed.  This comforts me because it reminds me that someone is in control in this out of control world.

Lord, I'm grateful I can KNOW your purposes will be carried out.  Help me to remember when I can't see any signs of anyone being in control.  Help me to trust when fear or grief tries to step in between me and my Savior.  I pray I can also take part, can do what the Father is doing, and be one of those that opens and shuts at the Lord's direction.

Lent 2017 - Day 9 - Isaiah 12:2 - Trust

"Behold, God is my salvation.  I will trust and not be afraid." Isaiah 12:2

So simple yet so profound. So simple yet so difficult. Trust = do not be afraid.

Fear has been a big part of my life.  After all, panic attacks are fear in extreme form.  My crazy, unreasonable, Satan inspired fear that something is wrong with me, that I'm having a heart attack, that I will die is dealt with solely by trusting.

I trust God when He says the days ordained for me are already recorded. (Psalm 139:16). I trust God when he asks, "who of you, by being worried, can add a single hour to his life?" (Matthew 6:27)

Either God is in control of my days ... or He's not. There's really no middle ground.

Either God is good ... or He's not.  Again, there's no middle ground.  So if I don't SEE the good, I trust there is good.

Not easy -- but simple.

Weak

A month ago I stumbled across Kate Motaung's Five Minute Friday blog challenge.  http://katemotaung.com/five-minute-friday/

Each week she posts one word and the challenge is to write for 5 minutes on that word.  I thought I'd try it to encourage myself to write.  The exercise was amazing and revealing for me, stretching me, pulling me, provoking me.  Last Friday's word was weak.

Weak

"When I am weak, I am strong."

The foolish things to confound the wise.

How to celebrate weak? How to stand weak on its head?

---from vulnerable, incapable, needy, disrespected ....

---to strong, God-reliant, confident, humble.

I hate feeling weak and helpless yet that visceral emotion reveals a true weakness - lack of trust.  Weakness of strength, capability, the ability to stand firm in trials or troubles is ALL provided for by a relationship with God.  Lack of trust is the weakness that limits my ability to receive and therefore overcome the difficult, withstand the unstable, and thrive instead of survive.

Isaiah 12

Hanging this on my wall and reading it aloud while I slog through the oracles ;-)

Why Does Jesus Delight in the Fear of the Lord?

"The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.  And He will delight in the fear of the Lord."  Isaiah 11:2-3

The study of Isaiah has convinced me that I don't understand the fear of the Lord and that I probably lack the fear of the Lord.  I'd be ok with that and go on my merry way, except for this prophecy of Christ in chapter 11.  If Christ not only had the spirit of the fear of the Lord but DELIGHTED in the fear of the Lord, then I'd best take it seriously!

To help my understanding I often turn to Strong’s Concordance (I have an app and it’s the best $5 I ever spent!)  First I discover that in the King James no delight is mentioned; instead the phrase is translated, “of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord.” 

Next I look to the Hebrew word.  In this case, I’m more confused than ever!!  The word is ‘ruwach,’ and it means to blow/breath, literally to smell, by implication to perceive, figuratively to anticipate, enjoy.  It’s usually translated accept, smell, or make of quick understanding, but a quick scan of the places where it’s used shows that it is most commonly translated ‘smell', as in the smell of battle, the smell of raiment (the way Isaac recognized Jacob), and the smell of incense or perfume before the Lord. 

Or here is another use:  "And as for the perfume which you shall make, you shall not make to yourselves according to the composition thereof: it shall be unto thee holy for the Lord.  Whosoever shall make like unto that, to smell thereto, shall even be cut off from his people.” Exodus 30:37-38

This is a perfume, a recipe given by the Lord, to be put in the tabernacle and will be holy.  “Whoever shall make any like it, to use as perfume, shall be cut off from his people.” “Whoever copies it for personal use will be excommunicated.” 

How in the WORLD does this word for smell get translated ONE time to ‘of quick understanding’ followed by ‘of the fear of the Lord’? And where do smell, quick understanding and delight connect? I need more help, so I look at the phrase in several versions.

“Fear-of-God will be all his joy and delight.”

“And shall make Him of quick understanding, and His delight shall be in the reverential and obedient fear of the Lord.” 

John Walvoord's Bible Knowledge Commentary “To fear God is to respond to Him in awe, trust, obedience and worship.”

Matthew Henry's Commentary on Isaiah: "The believing fear of God is a special preservative against the disquieting fear of man. We must look upon God as the Lord of hosts that has all power in his hand and all creatures at his beck. We must sanctify him accordingly, give him the glory due to that name, and behave towards him as those that believe him to be a holy God. We must make him our fear, the object of our fear, and make him our dread, keep up a reverence of his providence and stand in awe of his sovereignty, be afraid of his displeasure and silently acquiesce in all his disposals. Were we but duly affected with the greatness and glory of God, we should see the pomp of our enemies eclipsed and clouded, and all their power restrained and under check. Those that are afraid of the reproach of men forget the Lord their Maker.”

Do I feel like I understand any better?  Let me give it a whirl.  God is holy and as such He is set apart from us.  God asks for our trust, our obedience, our reverence, and our worship.  In Old Testament times, He gave His people specific instructions for how to worship, including this special perfume that was to be carefully crafted and used ONLY for worship, before the testimony, in the tent of meeting, where God promised to meet with man. (Ex 30:34-36) God gave them instructions to define a heart attitude: "Some things are reserved just for Me because I am different than everything else."  Approach a holy God with a heart that acknowledges the difference, that acknowledges the set-apart-ness.  With a breath He could destroy us. Instead He seeks us, invites us, redeems us.

Delight comes from understanding that I owe Him everything, and I deserve nothing.  Fear of the Lord is the wonder, awe-inspiring comprehension of all God can do, all He could do, all He does do and all He restrains Himself from doing.

Who will I lean on?

It’s easy for me to condemn the pride of the King of Assyria expressed in chapter 10 verse 13:

"By the power of my hand and by my wisdom I did this, for I have understanding.”

How arrogant!  But really, am I guilty of the same? How often do I pat myself of the back for how well I handled something?  Am I wise in my own eyes? Do I rely on my own understanding, even being unwilling to step out in faith where God has prompted because I don’t see or understand how it’s all going to work out?  Am I clinging to my own understanding rather than trusting in the Lord?

 

“In that day the remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no more lean on him who struck them, but will lean on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.”

Isaiah 10:20 ESV

When we were trying to teach my daughter to swim, she was calm on the steps and calm when holding precariously onto the side.  If her Daddy walked with her into the deeper water she cried and wrapped both arms and legs around him.  He'd peel her off so he could teach her to kick, and she was terrified.  She was so sure she was safer alone on the steps or clinging by her little fingers to the side than in the strong arms of her daddy.  She wanted to feel in control even though letting go and trusting her daddy was a much safer place to be.

I want to trust in what I understand too.  I'm uncomfortable letting go of the precarious hold I have and relying on something I can't see.  I'd rather depend on my own strength, my own wisdom, my own understanding that have to let go of control and understanding and trust God to provide.  Maybe verse 20 will become a prayer, that I will no more lean on (myself, my husband, the latest book, my job, well-meaning advice), but I will lean on the Lord, the Holy One, in truth.

A Beautiful Fear

“It is the Lord of hosts who you should regard as holy.  And He shall be your fear, and He shall be your dread.

Then He shall become a sanctuary.” Isaiah 8:13-14

Is that ‘then’ important?  Is it only after we learn and commit to regard God as holy, only after we fear Him that He becomes our sanctuary?

Is this in part because our fear can keep us safe? Good parenting often involves a little fear.  I don’t really care if the motivation to obey me is fear of getting in trouble when that means they won’t play with matches or cross the street alone.  My children may not understand WHY I am putting certain boundaries on them.  At the time, their understanding is less important than their obedience since my goal is to protect them and keep them safe.

As our children grow older, hopefully the fear factor morphs into a trust factor.  Maybe they fear a little less getting into trouble and begin to trust that our rules are meant for their benefit.  Or they just fear being grounded so they come in before curfew! I still prioritize obedience over understanding since my goal is still to protect them.

As a child of God, am I guilty of prioritizing understanding over obedience? If so, I’m acting just like my teenagers when they throw fits and tell me my rules are ridiculous.  I’m acting just like I did with my parents when I challenged their rule about no boys in the house when they were gone. “Ugh! What a stupid rule! Don’t they trust me?”

Is it possible that in many situations I am incapable of understanding why the Lord has laid out certain instructions? I somewhat recoil from the idea of ‘fearing’ the Lord, but maybe there is such a thing as a healthy fear, a fear that keeps me on the straight and narrow when I face temptation.

One of our ladies at Bible study shared that she so respected and loved her father, that while at college her ‘fear’ of him kept her from making certain poor choices.  Her fear was breaking her father’s heart.

I think that is a beautiful fear.  Could I be so in touch with the heart of God and so overwhelmed by His love for me that concern over grieving my Father motivates my daily decisions?

Do not just fear breaking His law; fear breaking His heart.

My Source of Support

“For behold, the Lord God of hosts is going to remove from Jerusalem and Jacob…” Isaiah 3:1

A list follows.  A list of things the people depended on.  To me it sounds like He’s stripping them of everything and turning things upside down.  “Capricious children will rule over them.” (v4)

Why?

Sometimes God humbles his people by removing sources of support, especially when we are not trusting in Him.  We are susceptible to looking to other people, other things for our support.  It’s easier to trust in our bank account balance than in daily provision from the Lord.  It’s easier to call a friend than to pray to the Lord. 

Some have called this process ‘a severe mercy.’ We might be more familiar with the term ‘tough love.’ Sometimes the Lord has to practice tough love with us.  Sometimes I’m depending on my street smarts to keep me safe, relying on my own wisdom to handle conflict, depending on my husband to make me feel loved and trusting in my financial smarts to guarantee we’re provided for in the future.  None of those things are wrong in and of themselves. It is wise of me to teach my daughter some safety principles as she begins driving more on her own.  It is obedient for my husband to do things daily to show his love for me.  It is right to strive to be good stewards of the resources God has given and to plan for the future.

But things happen.  The economy in this country could fall apart due to war, computer hackers or irresponsible leadership – all things VERY beyond my control.  When a crisis happens, my response reveals what I’m really trusting in.  If I fall apart when the economy falls apart, my confidence has been in my bank account not in my Lord. 

The key is for me to insure that I am not relying on these other supports INSTEAD OF relying on the Lord.  What am I looking to for protection and safety? What am I relying on and depending on? What am I proud of? What am I trusting in? 

If I answer honestly from my heart, does the Lord make the list?