Salvation: A Study in IsaiahSample

What does it say?

God comforted the righteous people in Israel who were suffering in the wake of the consequences of the sins committed by the rest of Israel.

What does it mean?

Throughout the Old Testament, there are many references to a “faithful remnant” of God’s people who did not walk in the sinful steps of the unfaithful. These are the people who obeyed the law when the rest of Israel disobeyed. These are the people who earnestly pursued the best interest of their fellow Israelites and kept their focus on God when the rest of Israel acted selfishly. In this chapter, we find the faithful suffering along with the unfaithful, but God told them to wake up, look around, and see that He was in control of their situation and was about to save them from their suffering.

How should I respond?

Some days you may feel that you did everything right, but everything went wrong. On those days, we can learn a lesson from the faithful remnant in today’s passage. When you wake up, admit to God out loud, “I know You are in control of this day.” When you lie down at night, no matter how the day went, admit to God out loud, “I know You were in control of this day.” Sometimes God has bigger purposes in mind for the events of your day, things you cannot see in the short term. What situation immediately comes to mind? Will you choose to trust that God’s long-term plan is best?