Trust Uncompromised

Trust Uncompromised

This day is a day of distress and rebuke and disgrace, as when children come to the point of birth and there is no strength to deliver them.

Isaiah 37:3

IN WORD God had invested a lot in Israel. The nation had been through seasons of exuberant celebration over God’s mercies and power, and it had been through seasons of open rebellion and dreadful consequences. Through it all, God had been faithful, upholding His covenant even while disciplining His children. But now the situation looked bleak. The Assyrians were surrounding Jerusalem and had the power to destroy it. King Hezekiah was in a jam.

The questions God had addressed through Isaiah in the first thirty-five chapters of the book all led up to this point: Is our God unique, or is He one of many gods among the nations? Does salvation come through political alliances or through God’s power? When circumstances look impossible, can compromise make the best of a bad situation?

We know the answers to these questions, especially having read Israel’s history and Isaiah’s prophecy. We know the end of the story. But if we were within the walls of a surrounded city listening to the taunts of a God-mocking general who had already destroyed all the cities he’d previously attacked, we might waver between faith and compromise as Hezekiah did. We might see our nation, church, or family as a project God had started but was now aborting. We might feel the shame of bringing a baby to term and not having the strength to deliver it.

IN DEED As uncomfortable as it is, that’s a great situation to be in if—and only if—it prompts us to put down our strategies and trust in God. Those who compromise their worship of God by bowing to the dictates of circumstances will never find rest. But biblical faith looks beyond walls, surrounding armies, and excruciating labor pains. It sees the God above them all, and it believes.

Never doubt in the dark what God told you in the light.

—VICTOR RAYMOND EDMAN