Nuggets
- Instead of terror, the fear of the Lord is reverence and love, which leads us to doing the good works for which we were made.
- Disciples will walk in darkness even while we are fearing and obeying.
- We are going to suffer the results of sin – poverty, crime, disease, death just to name a few – just because we are on this earth.
- We have to choose to put our trust in God and to lean on Him.
We are to be obedient disciples, but what does that mean? What characteristics do we need to possess to be obedient? This devotion looks at what Isaiah said about being an obedient servant of God.
Let's Put It into Context
“The Lord God has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious; I did not turn back” (Isa. 50: 5 CSB)
Isaiah 50: 4-11 talks about an obedient servant. This servant is ministering to others. The verses talk about turning the other cheek (Mt. 5: 39). Another theme is about God protecting us from our enemies.
Fear and Listening
“Who among you fears the Lord and listens to his servant? …” (Isa. 50: 10 CSB)
We talked about fear of the Lord before. Instead of terror, the fear of the Lord is reverence and love. Outside of God, we never will be able to understand things. We have to do more than just understand God’s ways; we have to embrace them. When we fear God and give honor to Him, we want to serve Him.
It seems like, these days, we don’t have a lot of fear of the Lord. What we do have is a lot of indifference.
Do you know of someone who exemplifies all of the characteristics of a good disciple — they just don’t show any evidence of believing in God? Their think their good deeds of kindness will be enough.
To read a related devotion, click the appropriate button below.
Do you know of someone who has made a profession but really hasn’t grown in their faith? It isn’t that they don’t believe — it is that there is no fruit being produced.
Do you know someone who is adamant that there is no God? They are very vocal in denying His omnipotence.
Proverbs 8: 13 says, “To fear the Lord is to hate evil. I hate arrogant pride, evil conduct, and perverse speech” (CSB). Well, I can see the three people we talked about in this verse as not fearing the Lord.
Person #1 thinks that being good is good enough. The problem with that is s/he thinks s/he thinks the good enough is by him/herself. That is not fearing God. That is arrogant pride.
It is not a question of being good enough or being too bad. The question we will have to answer is have you admitted your sins, believed that Jesus is your Savior and Redeemer, confessed that God is your Sovereign God, and demonstrated that commitment by the way you lived your life?
That “demonstrate” part is what sinks Person #2. God wants us to repent and change. Repenting and not changing is not a genuine commitment.
John the Baptist cautioned us that we have to “therefore produce fruit consistent with repentance” (Mt. 3: 8 CSB). It isn’t a one-and-done. We have to grow and produce. We have to show evidence of our salvation.
To read a related devotion, click the appropriate button below.
One of the problems with not changing is s/he keeps doing the evil conduct. Some may argue that the act itself isn’t evil.
But if someone hasn’t made a true confession to God, they are still children of the devil. “When anyone hears the word about the kingdom and doesn’t understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart …” (Mt. 13# 19 CSB).
Person #3 does have perverse speech. Not only does s/he not believe in God, but s/he also tells everyone who will listen that belief.
Fear of the Lord is what draws us to Him for salvation. Proverbs 16: 6 says, “Iniquity is atoned for by loyalty and faithfulness, and one turns from evil by the fear of the LORD” (CSB).
The loyalty and faithfulness means we are listening to God as He is growing us. “My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand” (Jn. 10: 27-28 CSB).
The thing is, we can’t stop at the listening/hearing. “But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (Jas. 1: 22 CSB).
See. The fear is all about the reverence and love. That leads us to doing the good works for which we were made.
A Disciple in Darkness?
“… Who among you walks in darkness, and has no light? …” (Isa. 50: 10 CSB)
Wait a second. Those who walk in darkness are the non-believers, aren’t they? How does “… Who among you walks in darkness, and has no light? …” (Isa. 50: 10 CSB) show up in the obedient servant section?
Disciples will walk in darkness even while we are fearing and obeying. I don’t think we want to go here. But don’t we sometimes?
Have we ever had a testing that was very trying? We couldn’t figure out why what was happening was happening. We can’t figure out what path to take.
It like the song says. “You call me out upon the waters The great unknown, where feet may fail.”
What? You think it is going to be all rainbows and unicorns?
Nope, Satan is going to do his best to get us to deny God. Sometimes, that means the stronger our faith, the harder the trial.
But we have to remember the next phrase in the song. “And there I find You in the mystery In oceans deep my faith will stand.”
Sanderson has a great reminder. “Health and material prosperity are not necessarily signs of the special favour of God. Nor are sickness and adversity any sure indication of the Divine displeasure.”
We are going to suffer the results of sin just because we are on this earth. Those results are poverty, crime, disease, death just to name a few.
So, our walks are sometimes going to take us through the darkness. That darkness may be accompanied by doubts. That makes us pull back from God.
But it is not total darkness. We still have Jesus in our hearts otherwise, we wouldn’t fear the Lord. It is, as Summerfield said, the circumstances.
When do we learn the most? When do we grow spiritually? It is in the trials. It isn’t in the smooth sailing.
It is when we have to consciously make a choice to be true to God. We have to choose to spend time with Him in the middle of the storm.
It is when we realize we can’t make it on our own. It is when we surrender to the Sovereign God because we trust Him.
Trusting and Leaning
“… Let him trust in the name of the Lord; let him lean on his God” (Isa. 50: 10 CSB)
What do we have to do when the darkness of trials come? “…trust in the name of the Lord; … lean on … God” (Isa. 50: 10 CSB).
Who is all-powerful? Who is love? Who has us in the palm of His hand? God.
Remember, God is I AM. Not I could be. Not I might be. Sometimes. But I AM.
That’s it. We have to choose to put our trust in God. We have to choose to lean on Him.
Making the Connections
So, we fear and trust the Lord even in the darkness. What do we gain?
- Faith
- Hope
- Humility
- Comfort
Remember, a while back we had a devotion on the Old Testament Hall of Famers of faith? Abel, Noah, Abraham, a bunch more. There is a whole chapter of people who “by faith” were considered the Old Testament saints.
What they had in common was they feared the Lord. It wasn’t about them. It was about God. None of them saw their promises come to fruition, but they kept the faith.
Look at the next verse. “Look, all you who kindle a fire, who encircle yourselves with torches; walk in the light of your fire and of the torches you have lit!” (Isa. 50: 11 CSB). When people walk in the fire that they have made, their light doesn’t hold a candle to God’s light. It is better to fear and trust the Lord.
How Do We Apply This?
What Isaiah is trying to tell us is we have to grow in faith. Through the good times and the bad, we need to keep on going deeper and deeper into the character of God. Who is He? How do we imitate Him?
When we see other disciples going through the dark times, we need to encourage them. Sometimes, that is standing along side of them. Maybe sometimes, it will mean standing in the gap.
Remember when we were walking through Ephesians, we talked about the light. We are to be witnesses to bring others into the light. God brings our sin into the light so we can confess it and get rid of it. Disciples are not supposed to associate with those who are continuing to sin because they are changed people. Once spiritually dead, we are now spiritually alive, so we need to walk like we are spiritually alive.
To read a related devotion, click the button below.
Bottom line is it all starts, end, and goes through God. We are to love Him and honor Him. We are reverently supposed to trust His Will for our lives. The best way to do that is to spend time growing our relationship with Him.
Father God. We love You. We acknowledge Your power and Your protection. Our wish is to grow our faith in You to trust You even more. Help us to keep our trust in You even during the trials of this life. May You always find us faithful to You. Amen.
What do you think?
Leave me a comment below (about this or anything else) or head over to my Facebook group for some interactive discussion.
If you don’t understand something and would like further clarification, please contact me.
If you have not signed up for the email daily or weekly providing the link to the devotions and the newsletter, do so below.
If God has used this devotion to speak with you, consider sharing it on social media.
Pingback: Finding Favor by Acknowledging God – Seeking God with Elaine
Pingback: What Is Piety? – Seeking God with Elaine
Pingback: Godliness as a Virtue – Seeking God with Elaine
Pingback: Starting Anew: Redo for Godliness – Seeking God with Elaine