Actively waiting

Unit 18, Session 1, Day 5

What a beautiful song of praise is presented to us in Isaiah 26. There are several phrases in this chapter that have become familiar to us through preaching and song.

"You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you." (vs. 3)

"My soul yearns for you in the night; in the morning my spirit longs for you." (vs. 9a)

Not so commonly expressed, but a personal favorite: "We were with child, we writhed in labor, but we gave birth to wind. We have not brought salvation to the earth, and the people of the world have not come to life.



While not cited in the DDG, this last goes to the point it makes, I think. Our reading for today is about how waiting on the Lord is an active process, not a sitting around in anticipation of something happening. "God’s peace is granted to those with an active intentional resolve to depend on Him, not those with a passive circumstantial resignation." I don't know how that will look in your particular situation, but sitting around and moaning because God appears not to be acting is not an act of faith. I'm no Hebrew scholar, but "gave birth to wind" doesn't sound like something you want to be close to. When we actively trust God, putting people and circumstances in His hands, making ourselves available to God for whatever He desires while he answers, we can have peace and we can have an impact on the world around us that is more significant than an unpleasant odor.

In what situations do you actively need to place faith in the person of
Jesus to experience God’s perfect peace?

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