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Quietness. Confidence. Strength.
I vote for all three of the above in my Christian life. How about you? Isaiah 30:15 states “In quietness and confidence will be your strength.” Christians everywhere desire to be strong. You and I should be strong in the Lord. But how do we do that? Are there keys to experiencing Christ’s strength in our daily lives? I believe there are. Two of these keys appear in our verse for this week. The Lord gave me this devotional while I was happily perched on a jagged rock in the woods overlooking a scenic lake near my home. I go often to this secluded place to hide out and be alone with the Lord. In this natural setting the only distractions are cool breezes, warm sunshine, singing cardinals, an occasional, furry tailed squirrel crossing the trail, majestic hawks soaring overhead, frolicking fish jumping in the blue-green water and flocks of geese honking their way to their next destination. The setting is so wonderfully quiet that all I can hear is my heartbeat. I love it! Why do I go to this off the beaten path place? I need quietness in my life. This refuge of near deafening silence restores my soul. Have you noticed how busy and loud life is? Life screams at us at every turn, drowning out quiet times and silent moments that restore our soul and renew our strength. Think about it. When was the last time you had a computer free, I-phone less, text message, Twitter free moment or two? How long has it been since you sat silently, that’s right silently, quietly and listened for God’s voice? Isaiah tells us that IN quietness and confidence is our strength. Our strength comes from times of quietness before the Lord where our confidence is renewed in Him. James 4:8 invites us to “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” Life has a way of wearing us down and burning us out. You and I need to draw near to hear the still, quiet voice of God. The Holy Spirit speaks and is heard best when we are not distracted by other voices. Too often many of us experience weakness in our Christian life because we do not quiet ourselves before the Lord and wait on Him to renew our confidence and strength. It is way too easy to excuse ourselves from the discipline of waiting on the Lord in quietness and confidence. Our enemy Satan loves it when we run and gun, scurry and hurry down the road of life, neglecting times of stillness and quietness before God where our souls are restored. The devil delights in you and me running on empty, hanging in there, merely surviving, hoping to get through another day. That is not the abundant life the Lord Jesus came to give us (John 10:10). You and I rob our souls of restoration, renewal and revival when we refuse to be still before the Lord. I want to suggest to you that if you do not have quiet times with the Lord, you will not be a confident Christian and you will lack strength for the day’s battle. Here are some simple, time-proven ideas for being quiet before the Lord.
I met with someone recently who is burned out. Life is not fun right now. They said that they have trouble being still. I told them that trouble always follows those who do not take time to be still before the Lord. Burnout or strength. The choice is ours. Strength comes from quietness and confidence in the Lord. “Be still (quiet) and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10 “He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet (still) waters; He restores my soul.” Psalm 23:2-3a A Word For Your Week: Be quiet in Christ to be strong. |
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