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15. 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.
16. 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! 17. A thousand will flee at the threat of one; at the threat of five you will all flee away, till you are left like a flagstaff on a mountaintop, like a banner on a hill."
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Isaiah 30:15-17 Quietness and Rest We live in an age and culture that values productivity and acheivement. So we push ourselves giving 100% or more to get things done. But God does not value the same things we do. God is not impressed with our productivity oriented society. He has different priorities and values things that our society frowns on. God says, "Be still and know that I am God." (Psalm 46:10) We say, "Hurry up! Rush! Move it! Push yourself! Do it now!" His warnings about this God-forgetfulness, this value self effort above valuing the Creator. Isaiah 30:15 says, "For thus saith the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not." Therefore you will flee. You will rush. You will run. You will go as fast as you can but your enemy, "Calamity" will overtake you and you will fall flat on your face. God knows that we were not made in Adam's image just to take care of our Gardens of Eden. Were were created for the blessing of the cool of the evening when God comes through the garden to fellowship with us and walk hand in hand with Him. Too often we get the idea we were put on this earth to be productive, to get things do, to subdue the earth, to name the animals, to weed the garden. All those things are secondary activities to give us meaning and a feeling of well being. They are not the purpose for which were were created. It is any wonder that God was troubled by Israel's rush to success at the price of neglect of the "Lover of Their Souls?" God knows our strength is limited. He says, "in quietness and trust is your strength." We get strength by prioritizing the "quietness and rest" that comes from Him. Rest in the Lord comes before the busyness of the day, and after the day's busy schedule. To leave Him out of our busy lives is to insult the Heavenly Father.
"Better is an handful with quietness, than both the hands full with travail and vexation of spirit." -- Ecclesiastes 4:6
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