True rest ... Isaiah 11:1-5

Isaiah 11:1-5

A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
    from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
² The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—
    the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
    the Spirit of counsel and of might,
    the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—
³ and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.

He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,
    or decide by what he hears with his ears;
⁴ but with righteousness he will judge the needy,
    with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;
    with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.
⁵ Righteousness will be his belt
    and faithfulness the sash around his waist.

In eternity those who belong to Jesus will “see Him as He is” (1 Jn 4:3) and we will worship. For now, we have Him revealed in His word, revealed there by His Spirit. But we are meant to dwell on Him and all He is just as much.

So, read these verses from Isaiah 11. They were given to God’s people to comfort and encourage them just as the Assyrians were about to rampage through the land. The destruction of the Assyrian nation was promised, but in the meantime where is their hope to come from? - from seeing the Lamb of God.

So, in our difficult days, see the One who is wisdom, see the One who is almighty. See the One who is justice and righteousness. See His mercy and everlasting kindness. Remember His faithfulness. And know the comfort of His return and coming judgement.

And, like Him, we then need not be those who ‘judge by what we see with our eyes’ or ‘hear with our ears’ … we need not be blown about by the impact of the here and now. Rather, we can rest on Him, trust in all He is, find rest in His sovereign rule and great love.

The Right Desire - Job 17:11-12

Job is suffering. His suffering has been terrible and long. There is nothing to take it away. He even desires that he had never been born because of the weight of the suffering.

As he reflects it seems, indeed, that ‘my days have passed, my plans are shattered’. As we read we know that there is more to come, more blessing in store for Job, but from where he is there is nothing left.

But as he reflects he says ‘Yet the desires of my heart turn night into day’. What desires? He has lost everything and has just said that ‘his days have passed’. So, what desires make such a difference?

Well, in the previous chapter (though part of the same discourse as this verse) he remembers that he has an intercessor before the Father, and that intercessor is his friend. He knows and loves the Lord Jesus - this is his stronghold, hope and anchor. Job has already long before declared ‘The Lord gives and the Lord takes away; blessed be the name of the Lord’. The desire that turns night to day is simply this … our love for the Lord that God himself has put into the heart of those who trust in Him.

And this is the key - my love for Him mustn’t be stolen by love for other things that will fail. That’s idolatry - to love another instead of love for Him. Wonderfully, love for God is both a fruit of the Spirit and a spiritual gift. We only need, in His strength’ to ‘guard our heart for it is the wellspring of life’ so that we ‘love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength’ … Him the first and foremost love, the One we will never lose, the One who we trust and who holds us, the One who turns our night into day.