In Quietness and Confidence

He leads me …

For the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, says: Only in returning to me and waiting for me will you be saved; in quietness and confidence is your strength; but you’ll have none of this.

“No,” you say. “We will get our help from Egypt; they will give us swift horses for riding to battle.” But the only swiftness you are going to see is the swiftness of your enemies chasing you! (Isaiah 30:15-16 TLB)

In 701 BC, the Assyrians invaded Judah. They had already conquered the northern kingdom of Israel and now they threatened Judah in the south (2 Kings 18:13).[1] It was understood that Assyria intended to attack Egypt, and the plan was to capture Judah as part of the same campaign. It therefore seemed reasonable under the circumstances for Judah to consider making an agreement with Egypt, so that together they could hold off the Assyrians.[2]

The Assyrians mocked the people in the city of Jerusalem, by challenging the God of Judah, saying that He was like the powerless gods of the nations they had already conquered (2 Kings 18:28–35; 19:10–12).

Faced with the Assyrian threat, King Hezekiah of Judah sent word to the prophet Isaiah (2 Kings 19:2). The Lord, through Isaiah, reassured the king that Assyria would never enter Jerusalem. Rather, the invaders would be sent home, and the city of Jerusalem would be spared (2 Kings 19:32–34).[3]

At about the same time Isaiah bought a word from God to King Hezekiah that any liaison with Egypt would not work. What the people needed to do was to to return to Him and wait for Him to deliver His own outcome, so that they would be saved. The correct solution was to trust Him in quietness and confidence which would be their strength. Unfortunately they were being too hard hearted and it needed to change.

The Bible is quite clear about people who are hardened heart towards God –

1. ‘Blessed and favored by God is the man who fears [sin and its consequence] at all times, But he who hardens his heart [and is determined to sin] will fall into disaster.’ (Proverbs 28:14 AMP)

2. ‘They made their hearts like flint so that they could not hear the law and the words which the Lord of hosts had sent by His Spirit through the former prophets; therefore great wrath came from the Lord of hosts.’ (Zechariah 7:12 NASB1995)

3. ‘But because of your callous stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are [deliberately] storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.’ (Romans 2:5 AMP)

4. “You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one. You do not want a burnt offering. The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.’ (Psalm 51:16-17 NLT)

When we look at the words, ‘in quietness and confidence is your strength’ we generally understand that confidence is a result of our protection and trust in the Lord. The word for quietness in Hebrew means repose — calm, relaxed, free from all anxiety. Not many Christians today have this kind of peacefulness and serenity. Many believers are constantly busy, trying to obtain position, wealth, possessions and pleasure. In the ministry many are busy worrying, fearing, and looking for answers in conferences, seminars, and best-selling books. Everyone seems to want solutions, direction, something to calm them, yet they seek it everywhere except from the Lord. God has already spoken a word for them through Isaiah, and if they do not turn to the One who has the answers for all things, their striving will end in sorrow and confusion.

The apostle Peter speaks of the ‘inner beauty’[4] of ‘a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God’ (1 Peter 3:4 NKJV). This spirit can only be deposited in us by the Holy Spirit. And the good news is that he gives it to everyone who fully trusts in Him.[5]

‘Nine-tenths of the difficulties are overcome when our hearts are ready to do the Lord’s will, whatever it may be. When one is truly in this state, it is usually but a little way to the knowledge of what His will is.’ (George Mueller, 1805–1898).

The greatest of all George's pursuits was the building and maintenance of the large orphanage covering thirteen acres (5.3 hectares) of ground at Bristol, England. He began this work with only two shillings (50 cents) in his pocket. He gave up everything he had to God, and then followed this with prayer and not saying anything to anyone about his needs. As a result, he received everything needed to erect the five large buildings and to feed the 2,050 resident orphans and 110 helpers continuously day by day for sixty years.

We should be careful that we do not harden our hearts towards God. Each day we should be obedient to Him. We should also be still and patiently wait for Him to lead and guide us in the way we ought to go. We learn a lot from the examples found in His Word. We are then able to listen with quietness and confidence, before obeying His promptings.[6]

So, if we have a melt down with a young member of our family, we might be rather heated and yell a bit, lecture a bit and then arrange some sort of punishment. But in quietness and trust is our strength. (God responds – ‘Pray for them and trust Me with their short comings’).

Then when there a disagreement with our spouse, we probably argue a bit, complain a bit, or perhaps take matters into our own hands. In quietness and trust is our strength. (God responds – ‘Let go of your pride and trust Me to help work it out’).

When we are crawling along in traffic on the way to work, it makes us feel so much better when we honk our horn and say some cross words at the offenders who fortunately cannot hear us. In quietness and trust is our strength. (God responds – ‘Take a deep breath and just accept the situation. Let Me calm your anxious heart. Maybe they are having a bad day too’).[7]

As Jesus said,

‘But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive and green today and tomorrow is [cut and] thrown [as fuel] into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith!

‘Therefore do not worry or be anxious (perpetually uneasy, distracted), saying, ‘What are we going to eat?’ or ‘What are we going to drink?’ or ‘What are we going to wear?’ For the [pagan] Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; [but do not worry,] for your heavenly Father knows that you need them.

‘But first and most importantly seek (aim at, strive after) His kingdom and His righteousness [His way of doing and being right—the attitude and character of God], and all these things will be given to you also’. (Matthew 6:30-34 AMP)

Dear Reader – If you have found some value in this blog, please feel free to send a copy on to your family and friends. Kind regards, John

[1] Who was Hezekiah in the Bible? GotQuestions.org;

https://www.gotquestions.org/life-Hezekiah.html

[2] Isaiah Chapter 30, Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834], at sacred-texts.com

https://www.sacred-texts.com/bib/cmt/barnes/isa030.htm

[3] Who was Hezekiah in the Bible? GotQuestions.org;

https://www.gotquestions.org/life-Hezekiah.html

[4] Amplified Version

[5] Quietness and Confidence, David Wilkerson, worldchallenge.org/;

https://www.worldchallenge.org/quietness-and-confidence

[6] Do NOT Harden Your Heart – Isaiah 30:15, Tonia Slimm, Growing with God, Wordpress.com;

https://scenichillsblvd.wordpress.com/2021/06/13/do-not-harden-your-heart-isaiah-3015/