I just had to share an incredible quiet time I experienced with the Lord the other day. First, let me say, I never cease to be amazed at how the Lord knows my heart - 1 Samuel 16:7 tells us a powerful truth about God - “People judge by outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” And oh how true it is. The Lord saw all the way into my heart - He knew that I had been anxious and worried about a few things. And over the last number of years He has been teaching me in new ways how to trust Him more. I have learned that when I entertain a worry then I am not trusting the Lord. That’s why I am SO EXCITED about knowing the names of God because when I know His names, truly know them, then I trust God - it’s a promise in Psalm 9:10 that I hold on to - “those who know your name trust in you.”
Back to this amazing quiet time I had with the Lord. So I was reading in Isaiah 7 all about Ahaz, the King of Judah. News had come to King Ahaz that the king of Syria and the king of Israel had joined together as allies and that they were against the king and people of Judah. Now this was just “news” - nothing had happened yet. But how do you think the king and the people of Judah responded - here’s how the New Living Translation translates it in Isaiah 7:2, “So the hearts of the king and his people trembled with fear, like trees shaking in a storm.” When I read their response, I laughed and nodded my head. How often have I trembled like a tree shaking in a storm and nothing has actually happened. What is up with that? But I LOVE what the Lord told Isaiah to say to King Ahaz and the people, “Tell him to stop worrying. Tell him he doesn’t need to fear…” (Isaiah 7:4). He goes on to call the two kings “burned-out embers” and He also says that the invasion that they are so afraid of “will never happen; it will never take place.” But here are the words from God that just knocked me over and blew me away - listen to this - “Unless your faith is firm, I cannot make you stand firm” (Isaiah 7:9 NLT). Here’s what I see in this - a confident, steadfast life comes from a confident, steadfast faith. I cannot waver and I cannot entertain doubt and nurse all the anxieties and worries. Most of the things that we think may happen, NEVER HAPPEN. If trouble comes, we want to be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing our toil is not in vain in the Lord (1 Corinthians 15:58). And in the hard times, whatever they may be, we need to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God that He may exalt us at the proper time (1 Peter 5:6).
What is the secret to a firm faith? I immediately think about Jeremiah 17:7-8 because there we have a description of steadfastness in the picture of a tree that is never bothered or worried by the elements. In fact, even in the heat and drought, this kind of tree stays green and produces fruit. That’s what the Lord expects of us. And what is the secret? Trusting the Lord and making Him our hope and confidence. How can that happen? We need to be like that tree, planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water (Jeremiah 17:8). The Word of God is our source of sustenance and the indwelling Spirit makes the Word come alive and applies it to our heart and soul, transforming us and producing fruit in our lives. And so, the greatest thing we can do is to stay planted in the Word of God. As we read and study God’s Word, we will continue to learn who God is, what He does, and what He says and then we will TRUST HIM. We will be firm in our faith instead of trembling and shaking like King Ahaz and the people of Judah. And so, may we all be like those trees in the picture above, planted by the water, green and flourishing, producing fruit in God’s time and in His way. Blessings to all.