A place of quiet rest
Day 324, Tuesday, July 1
Isaiah Chapters 30 – 31
Don’t just do something; sit there!
When things get bad and stressful—and they are very bad and stressful through much of Isaiah—we typically respond one of two ways: what psychologists call “fight or flight.”
That is, our impulse is to either fight back against what is going wrong, or to run away.
While these may be natural responses, they aren’t necessarily godly responses.
Beginning in 30:15, Isaiah writes, “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.”
He then speaks of how the people flee, even out of proportion to the threat, then continues with, “Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!”
For the Christian, the best place to be is where God wants you to be—and that’s something we never learn through our own devices.
Whenever there’s a tragedy and people respond with “thoughts and prayers,” there are always those who say that what is needed is action.
Maybe they’re right sometimes; but the way to learn if action is needed, and what action is useful, is through thinking, praying, and most importantly, listening.
When you are overburdened and overwhelmed, remember Isaiah’s wisdom: the Lord longs to be gracious to you…. Blessed are all who wait for him!

-Rev. Mark Fleming

Tuesday meditation

Job 1:6-12
One day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them. The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?”
Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.”
Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.”
“Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.”
The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.”
Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.

Prayer focus
God, may we weep no more and trust you to be gracious when we cry for help.