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.