Grace That Is Greater

The book of Isaiah is filled with many wonderful passages. In this Old Testament book, Isaiah describes Israel’s sin and rebellion against God and the warning of judgment. However, Isaiah also offers a message of hope. The nation of Israel had already divided after the death of Solomon calling the ten tribes in the north Israel and the two tribes in the south Judah. Assyria had previously defeated Israel and decided now to attack Judah. In this time of rebellion, the people are turned from God, and rather than seeking Him at all, they seek help from the Egyptians to go against Assyria. Judah chooses to give their riches for the aid of Egypt instead of trusting in God’s power. They completely reject the Word of God, His wisdom and guidance. When the Assyrians began their attack, Egypt did nothing to help Judah. At the last minute, God stepped in and rescued His people. Warren Wiersbe in his book Be Comforted explains, “Their only hope was to repent, return to the Lord, and by faith rest only in Him, but they would not listen and obey.” The people of Judah had to experience greatest difficulty to realize the need for the greatest grace, which God always had waiting for them.

Isaiah comforts them with these words in Isaiah 30:15, 18-21. “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength…Therefore the Lord wait to be gracious to you, and therefore He exalts Himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for Him. For a people shall dwell in Zion, in Jerusalem; you shall weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry. As soon as He hears it, He answers you. And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide Himself anymore, but your eyes shall see your Teacher. And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.”

God waited patiently. By His grace, He sent adversity and affliction to draw Judah back to Him. The people did not come back right away. Still God waited. They turned and saw Him, but He did not deliver right away. Again, He waited. He lifted Himself up, so that all could clearly see Him, and then in His grace He saved them. In the greatest time of difficulty and at the most seasonable time, the Lord appeared. Their need for God and His help intensified, so when His deliverance came, God’s mercy and grace were all the sweeter to them. The people of Judah finally saw Him, and fellowship was restored. Warren Wiersbe summarized this saying, “God’s grace is His favor toward those who do not deserve it, and it is only because of His grace that we have any blessings at all.” His grace was ready and waiting for them, however He was waiting for them to be ready for His grace. In receiving His mercy and grace, Judah also received God’s strength, guidance, and peace for “in returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.”

These were hard lessons for the children of Israel but no less difficult for us. I think of my daughter, Bethany. Discipline with her is hard. She is stubborn and wants to be in control. We often deal with the same issues over and over again, because she doesn’t choose to change. Sometimes we make things a bit difficult for her and many times just have to wait until she sees her wrong. I realize I am no different from the children of Israel or Bethany. I have sin issues that I just don’t want to change. God keeps working and sending things my way until I come to the place where I am ready to deal with it. Then, in His grace, He mercifully forgives, teaches me, loves me unconditionally and shows me the way to walk. The blessing comes from that amazing peace, the growth in Him, the trust in His guidance and the restored fellowship. When I get to this place, I often wonder why I chose the wrong in the first place.

God knows us. He knows we are only complete in Him and will do whatever it takes to cause us to seek Him. He longs to be gracious and compassionate, but He is a God of justice. Sin must be taken care of. He is a God of mercy and grace, and we do have to choose Him. He waits patiently for us to come to this place, the place of grace. His grace is ready and waiting. I love that quiet moment when God says to the people of Judah, “This is the way, walk in it.” His grace is waiting. He is waiting for us to hear His gracious voice saying, “This is the way, walk in it” and then willingly take His hand and follow Him.

In His Love,

Susan