1/3/21
Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the historic one-year lectionary.
On the eve of the circumcision of Christ we often read Isaiah 30:15-17. Here God points out to Israel that they have no need for fear. They will be kept by God. "In quietness and in trust shall be your strength" (v. 15). It isn't our quietness, though, nor our stability, nor even the strength of our trust.
The safety of God's people is part and parcel of the strength of God. It is his strength, his majesty, in which we trust. We are weak, generally incapable of accomplishing any of our own security. But God is the strong one.
I picture this very much like a small child being taken on a long trip. The infant, who can't walk or talk, dress himself, or take care of other basic grooming needs, is taken by loving parents aboard an airplane. The child didn't buy the ticket. The child doesn't understand the ticket or even the trip. The child is with the parents, as the airliner goes through its safety checks, receives instructions and clearance, then takes off. The airplane may climb to an altitude at which the outside air is extremely cold and not breathable. The infant doesn't know where he is going, nor how to get there safely. What happens? Given enough time, the pilot reaches the destination, decreases altitude, slows the airplane, lands it, drives it to the right place, and the infant with parents leaves through the airport. Mission accomplished! All calm!
We trust in the great and mighty God. He is able to carry us through situations which would certainly prove our undoing. If we trust in him, we are perfectly safe from eternal harm. Then again, if we trust in ourselves, if we panic, if we try to put our infant hands on the airplane controls and fly the thing, if we pop the emergency hatch and leap from the airplane at 40,000 feet, we will surely die.
The God of Israel is able to keep his people. Like the infant on the trip, we rest in God's arms, fed by His Word, kept by His Holy Spirit. Here is our comfort and our strength.
If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.
Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the historic one-year lectionary.
On the eve of the circumcision of Christ we often read Isaiah 30:15-17. Here God points out to Israel that they have no need for fear. They will be kept by God. "In quietness and in trust shall be your strength" (v. 15). It isn't our quietness, though, nor our stability, nor even the strength of our trust.
The safety of God's people is part and parcel of the strength of God. It is his strength, his majesty, in which we trust. We are weak, generally incapable of accomplishing any of our own security. But God is the strong one.
I picture this very much like a small child being taken on a long trip. The infant, who can't walk or talk, dress himself, or take care of other basic grooming needs, is taken by loving parents aboard an airplane. The child didn't buy the ticket. The child doesn't understand the ticket or even the trip. The child is with the parents, as the airliner goes through its safety checks, receives instructions and clearance, then takes off. The airplane may climb to an altitude at which the outside air is extremely cold and not breathable. The infant doesn't know where he is going, nor how to get there safely. What happens? Given enough time, the pilot reaches the destination, decreases altitude, slows the airplane, lands it, drives it to the right place, and the infant with parents leaves through the airport. Mission accomplished! All calm!
We trust in the great and mighty God. He is able to carry us through situations which would certainly prove our undoing. If we trust in him, we are perfectly safe from eternal harm. Then again, if we trust in ourselves, if we panic, if we try to put our infant hands on the airplane controls and fly the thing, if we pop the emergency hatch and leap from the airplane at 40,000 feet, we will surely die.
The God of Israel is able to keep his people. Like the infant on the trip, we rest in God's arms, fed by His Word, kept by His Holy Spirit. Here is our comfort and our strength.
If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.
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