Isaiah 30:15

Isaiah 30:15 says, For thus saith the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not.  God was giving the people of Israel what they needed to do to be restored to enjoy the benefits of being his people.  They needed to turn away from the world and return to being obedient to Him.  Then, they could rest in quietness and strength, but they wouldn’t.  If we have strayed away from God as followers of Christ, all we have to do is repent and return to Him and then we can rest in His peace with confidence. 

Verse sixteen adds, But ye said, No; for we will flee upon horses; therefore shall ye flee: and, We will ride upon the swift; therefore shall they that pursue you be swift.  Isaiah said that they refused to turn to God for their strength, relying on horses to help them reach other people to save them instead.  Whatever our plan may be to save ourselves outside of God’s will, no matter how much faith we may have in it, will never save us.  There is no nation powerful enough to defeat God, so if we are putting our faith in a nation, even America, to save us spiritually, we are going to fail. 

Verse seventeen continues, One thousand shall flee at the rebuke of one; at the rebuke of five shall ye flee: till ye be left as a beacon upon the top of a mountain, and as an ensign on an hill.  God said that because of their fear, one of the enemy could cause a thousand of the people of Israel to flee.  Their defeat would serve as a beacon, a warning, to others about the danger of not obeying God.  If nothing else, our failure due to disobeying God may serve as a warning to others, but hopefully, we will repent and return to Him if we have turned away from Him before this becomes the case. 

Verse eighteen states, And therefore will the Lord wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the Lord is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him.  Even though the people of Israel had given up on God, He had not given up on them.  He would graciously wait for them to return to Him.  As Christians, if we have turned away from God, He still awaits to meet us once more with His grace. 

Verse nineteen adds, For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem: thou shalt weep no more: he will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when he shall hear it, he will answer thee.  Isaiah said that God would hear and answer those who called on Him.  When they put their faith in Him, they would cry no more.  God hears us when we cry from fear, but if we put our faith in Him, He by His grace will dry our tears.