Intro: I find this verse to be one of those gems that gets buried underneath a lot of other stuff. As a matter of fact, I was not very aware of this verse, and the context of this verse until I read more about it in the book “The Strength You Need” by Robert J. Morgan.

When we read such a verse as this, it is very wise to back up and see it in its context. The background of Isaiah 30 is similar to that of Psalm 46, but written before the Assyrian invasion, not afterward. The Assyrian army was the greatest force the world had ever seen. It rumbled over the world like a steamroller and seemed unstoppable. There were wars and conflicts everywhere, with Judah caught in the middle. On their southwestern flank the Egyptian Egyptian empire was threatening. To the northeast, Sennacherib cast his cruel gaze toward them. But Sennacherib didn’t realize how dangerous it was to attack the people of God.

The Lord had promised to preserve and protect Israel. He had sworn to bless those who blessed Israel and curse those who cursed Israel, so long as Israel remained faithful to Him. The same is true for God’s children today—for those who know and love Jesus Christ. We’re under the blessings of the new covenant, and Romans 8 declares, “If God is for us, who can be against us? … in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us” (vv. 31, 37). The Bible says, “Thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 15:57). The apostle John said, “This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith” (1 John 5:4). As God’s children, every problem or peril becomes an opportunity for God to work all things for our good. That’s the basis for our supernatural optimism, which the Bible calls “hope.”

Morgan, Robert J.. The Strength You Need (p. 74). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.

God wanted his people to trust in Him, and in Him alone. He wanted them to understand that He would never leave them nor forsake them, and that He would be there in the battles they fought. But instead of consulting God, the King of Judah at the time decided to ask Egypt for help. He set out his own battle plan.

Isaiah 30 is the sermon Isaiah preached when this diplomatic mission left for Egypt. It had apparently been a public event, a colorful spectacle, much talked about. A caravan made up of donkeys, diplomats, camels, and cash departed through one of the ancient gates. The envoys aired their noses in the direction of Egypt, hoping to secure military help in the face of the growing Assyrian threat.

Isaiah probably watched this convoy leave the city, and you can bet that he had something to say about it. He was a powerful voice for God, and the words we read in chapter 30 remind of us some very important things. Isaiah would warn the people that this would not end well for them.

This Is a Rebel Generation
8-11 So, go now and write all this down.
Put it in a book
So that the record will be there
to instruct the coming generations,
Because this is a rebel generation,
a people who lie,
A people unwilling to listen
to anything GOD tells them.
They tell their spiritual leaders,
“Don’t bother us with irrelevancies.”
They tell their preachers,
“Don’t waste our time on impracticalities.
Tell us what makes us feel better.
Don’t bore us with obsolete religion.
That stuff means nothing to us.

He would continue to tell them what would eventually happen to them as they go down this path. V. 12. Like a towering badly built wall that slowly erodes and tilts and shifts, and one day without warning collapses.

How many of us today have this quiet confidence in the Lord? How many have run to Egypt (the world), for answers without ever consulting God on the issue?

Isaiah 30:15 is a verse that was written for times just like these, and there are 4 key components to finding strength in this verse.

1) Repent
a. In the context of the verse the word we read is “return”. Isaiah is speaking to the caravan that is heading toward Egypt, instead of consulting God.
b. Repentance is exactly that. Turning around.
c. Without repentance there’s no rest, quietness, trust, or strength.
d. At times we lose our spiritual calibration. We get off track.
e. When we repent, we realize this, and we make a complete turn and go back the right way.
f. The fact is, until we turn the camels around and head back home, we will not find the strength we need.
g. We cannot stay in the world, and live for the world, and think like the world, and expect God to renew our spirit and give us strength

2) Rest
a. The verse says, “In repentance and rest is your salvation.” The word rest means that having repented, now you’re going to relax and trust God with things. You’re going to cast your burdens on the Lord. In biblical usage, the word rest doesn’t necessarily imply cessation of activity. It simply means you’re going to do your best while trusting God with the outcome.
b. Illustrate with your mind as a storeroom filled with boxes. Those boxes represent thoughts and emotions, and there are hundreds of them, and they are always active. But let’s imagine that in the center of the room there is a huge crate. And this crate represents the core of your thoughts, your deepest convictions. If that crate is filled with worry and anxiety, and obsession over problems it will cripple you. But if you consciously remove those detrimental things from the box—they may not totally leave your mind; you may box them up and store them on a nearby shelf—but if you take the negative thoughts and emotions out of the central box in the middle of your mind and repack it with the cognizance of the sovereignty of God—then you’ll have rest.
c. So many are missing this. They can’t rest because they don’t trust.
d. Notice in verse 15 who is the one saying these things. It is the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel. The one who knows when the sparrow falls, the one who know the number of our days, the one who created our bodies. The One who is in absolute control of all things.
e. Illustration: A friend sent me an email this morning about a pastor who announced he was going to preach a sermon on “God Reigns.” But the newspaper misprinted it as “God Resigns.” The world acts as if a divine letter of resignation had been posted on heaven’s bulletin board. But no; nothing will budge our Lord from His heavenly throne. Nothing can threaten the lordship of Christ.
f. The Bible says, “Cast your cares on the LORD, and he will sustain you” (Ps. 55:22). The Bible says, “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You” (Isa. 26:3 NKJV). Romans 8:6 says, “The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.” The Bible says, “If anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things” (Phil. 4:8).
g. The big question for us this morning is not whats on your mind, but who governs your mind.

3) Quietness
a. “To live a healthy human life in quietness and confidence is not easy in our day. The pace is too rapid; the strain of nerve and muscle is so incessant; the world of thought and opinion has become so large, complex, and baffling; the work of life has become so vast and the day of life so short, that in our struggle to keep the wolf of failure from the door, the demon of worry gets into our heart.”
b. Do you know when these words were written. 1888. Sounds like yesterday.
c. Quietness is horizontal; it’s our attitude toward circumstances and difficulty. Confidence is vertical; it’s our trust in God. And when the horizontal and the vertical come together, it becomes inward strength.” (Robert Morgan)
d. Just like last week when we studied the verse that said “Be still and know that I am God”, we hear God saying again “be quiet”.
e. We must learn how to turn it off, tune it out, and be find quietness in Him.
f. Do you have that quiet place with God?

4) Trust
a. As we repent, rest, find stillness, and exercise confidence, the Lord will strengthen us and show us what to do.
b. Confidence implies trust. I am confident in my Doctor, confident in my husband or wife etc…
c. What are we confident in today? Who are we confident in today?
d. The people of Judah decided that they would align themselves with other nations instead of God.
e. When we look to the Lord in repentance and rest and quietness and confidence, He imparts a strength from beyond ourselves, from beyond the stars, from the very throne of God. (Morgan)
f. Returning → Rest → Quietness → Confidence → Strength