In Quietness and in confidence shall be your strength
For thus saith the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not.
What does this mean?
What does that mean, ‘In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength ..?’
It means that whenever you experience turmoil in your life, your best bet is not to put your confidence in man but pray and trust in the Lord. History tells us to heed God’s warnings.
Through the prophet Isaiah, God makes an extra-ordinary prophesy to the Jewish people under siege and they are told, not to collaborate with other nations, not to run. But instead to return to the LORD.
These Scripture verses in Isaiah are a warning of what happens when we don’t follow God’s guidance and at the same time these Scripture verses are a wonderful reminder of God’s promises and the benefits which flow from obedience.
WarningsÂ
In Isaiah 30, 32Â and 36 and 39 we’re told what happens to those who wait for the Lord in contrast to those who follow their own counsel and the counsel of false prophets.
Prophet Isaiah is told by the Lord to write this warning down so that it will be known for eternity,
Isaiah prophesied when the country was under siege,
But ye said, No; for we will flee upon horses;
therefore shall ye flee: and,
We will ride upon the swift;
therefore shall they that pursue you be swift.
One thousand shall flee at the rebuke of one;
at the rebuke of five shall ye flee:
till ye be left as a beacon upon the top of a mountain,
and as an ensign on an hill.
Isaiah told the people that God would save them as long as they promised to trust in Him and repent of their sins. And indeed history tells us that those who fled ended up in BIG trouble and those who heeded the warnings of the prophet and stayed put, quietly praying and trusting in the Lord, were saved.
Prophesy fulfilled
Promises
I reckon that the Bible is the best history book in the world: ‘Wie zich  aan een ander spiegelt, spiegelt zich zacht.’
And the work of righteousness shall be peace;
and the effect of righteousness
quietness and assurance for ever.
 Or ‘Felix quem faciunt aliena pericula cautum.’ Which is the equivalent of ‘Wise men … learn by others’ harms, fools scarcely by their own ….’ by Benjamin Franklin.
ABOUT THE CONTENT – All content on this website is copyrighted and you can read more about this here. Please also read the disclaimer about my authority and qualifications.
ABOUT THIS BLOG – We’re researching the truth of living forever according to GOD’s Holy Word; Sola Scripture. Popular opinion tells us that everyone who ‘believes’ and has ‘faith’ will go to heaven. Is this true? I decided to ask the prophets about the truth of it all.
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Content in this post
1. Knock and it shall be opened unto you.
2. Trust in the LORD and His Son.
3. Promises, promises.
4. Promises made in Psalms.
5. Promises made by prophet Isaiah.
6. Promises made by prophet Jeremiah.
7. Promise made by prophet Amos.
8. Jesus reiterated what the prophets said.
9. Promises made by Jesus.
10. So what else did Jesus say?
11. Sixteen part Formula.
12. The full promise made by Jesus as partially quoted on the Scripture Card.
Knock and it shall be opened unto you.
Fulfilled promises.
A little while ago I told you how we prayed for a place we could afford and where pets are allowed. I mentioned also how New Age positive thinking doesn’t work for me because it lacks the faith component. In contrast I like the promises made in the Bible and by the Son of God because of the proven track record.
There have been so many fulfilled promises in my life that I’ve pretty much lost track of a lot of them but I certainly remember all the big ones including the ‘upgrade in residential comforts,’ because I enjoy these comforts every single day.
There were a lot of factors that came into play for this promise to be fulfilled, such as right time, place, residence, fine friends giving appropriate references, receptive and kind landlord and so on.
And don’t forget faith. Lotsa prayer and lotsa faith. Whilst we were on the Sunny Coast we couldn’t find a suitable place for love or money and I remember telling the girls not to fret. I distinctly remember saying that these kind of things have a way of turning around quickly and I said, “Before you know it, the tide may turn and people will offer us somewhere to stay for free or something like that.”
Soon after a family member as well as a very kind ‘health professional’ friend offered us accommodation. When we arrived in our new town there were offers for rentals ‘free for the first month’ and so on. We had faith, we committed all to Our Father and we trusted that everything would work out well and, Praise The LORD, things worked out really well for us.
Trust in THE LORD and His SON.
When Jesus gave his famous sermon on the mount he told his listeners that if we knock, it shall be opened unto us. But this wasn’t all he had to say about this wonderful promise. There was plenty more. And I wonder if other prophets said a similar thing. After all Jesus, as a Jewish prophet, taught from the old Scriptures. Let’s have a look to see who else told us about this promise.
Promises, promises.
Promises made in Psalms
The following verses are, apart from one, all credited to King David. King David mucked up plenty times but he was confident, that as long as he repented and continued to commit to and trust in the LORD, GOD would hear him. no matter what his situation or his failures, David would always eventually turn to the LORD for repentance and forgiveness and strength to keep on going despite his failures and inadeqacies.
Asaph, with his verses from Psalms, contrasted the trust and commitment shown by King David with the nonchalance and entitlement of the (wicked) pretenders and hypocrites.
I sought the LORD, and he answered me;
he delivered me from all my fears.
Call upon me in the day of trouble:
I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.
But unto the wicked God saith,
What hast thou to do to declare my statutes,
or that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth?
The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him,
to all that call upon him in truth.
He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him:
he also will hear their cry, and will save them.
As a King, David was rich with many servants and resources, yet his trust and strength was always in God and not in his wealth nor in men.
Promises made by prophet Isaiah
Prophet Isaiah taught that we should always seek God who will abundantly forgive anyone who is genuinely remorseful.
Seek ye the Lord while he may be found,
call ye upon him while he is near:
Let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts:
and let him return unto the Lord,
and he will have mercy upon him;
and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
Till I read the Ten Commandments I didn’t even realise what I had to be remorseful for. This had much to do with the circles I used to move in and the fact that western societies celebrate covetousness. Around the concepts of stealing and lying there were many blurred lines in my life. And what about honouring your parents, sure I was nice to them, but ‘honouring’ them? What? Honour God and Go(o)d alone. Huh? I used to mix all religions and thought this was a smart thing to do. Swearing … why not? Doesn’t everyone? And hating is akin to killing? Oops.
When I started to read the bible and I came across the word wicked I initially thought this meant murderers and the like. It wasn’t till later that I realised that the pretenders and hypocrites were referred to as ‘the wicked’ as opposed to those who make a genuine effort to do the right thing according to the guidelines set by our Holy Father.
Reading the Commandments made me realise that it is a good thing to follow my gut instinct over and above society’s norms and guidelines and peer pressure. So, yes I have plenty to be remorseful about. The Commandments are literally a godsend to me because they are transparent, easy to follow and set a universal standard for human morality and decency.
I just love them!
Promises made by prophet Jeremiah
Prophet Jeremiah prophesises that when people look for God, they will find Him; with mighty promises attached for doing so.
You will seek me and find me
when you seek me with all your heart.
Call unto me, and I will answer thee,
and show thee great and mighty things,
which thou knowest not.
Promise made by prophet Amos
Prophet Amos says that seeking God assures life.
For thus said the LORD to the house of Israel,
Seek ye me, and ye shall live:
Prophet Amos makes the connection of seeking THE LORD with eternal life.
Jesus reiterated what the Prophets said
As we can see above from the quotes by the prophets, what Jesus said was nothing new and He merely reiterated what the prophets had been saying all along. The above scriptural references made by the prophets of old was likely the kind of text that Jesus quoted from. I am only quoting a few references here; there are plenty more quotes in GOD’S Holy Word about seeking Him and how to go about it to get  marvellous results. After reading all these promises I can see a pattern emerge and some kind of formula appear.
Promises made by Jesus
It is good to keep in mind that the promises are made to followers of Yehovah and His Son. And we should also remember that any of us at any time can choose to be part of God’s posse. Faithful believers who make a genuine effort to do all the right things can expect good results when they apply the teachings from the Holy Word and live by the rules which are set by the Creator of our universe.
Applying ‘positive thinking’ without the ‘faith component’ does not work for me. It may work for others. But for me, life is more about the intimate relationship I have with my Creator and His Son than it is about ‘wanting this and/or wanting that.’ Anything that flows from the relationship I have is an extra, a bonus and very much welcomed and graciously accepted. But these extra’s and bonuses are certainly not what motivates me.
I like how Keith Johnson puts it; “When we have vision, God will make provision.”
So what else did Jesus say?
Jesus said, if you remain true to me, I’ll be true to you.
If you remain in me and my words remain in you,
ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
Again I say unto you,
That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask,
it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.
For where two or three are gathered together in my name,
there am I in the midst of them.
And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer,
believing, ye shall receive.
The  Formula
The ‘Knock and it shall be opened unto you’ promise is well known and no secret at all. But few people realise that  there are many components to this promise that need to be heeded if we want a positive result. Some people think that it is possible to get something for nothing but as we just read, if we want a positive response when relying on this promise we need to make sure that we do our part to the best of our ability.
What is our part? The above verses tell us to trust, commit, call, seek and ask humbly. We’re told to do good and call upon Him in truth with all our heart. If necessary return to Him, if possible be in agreement with your nearest and dearest.  Keep His words and commandments and ask according to His will. We’re told to pray and to believe. There is a minimum of sixteen steps to this formula.
1. Trust.
2. Commit.
3. Call.
4. Seek.
5. Ask.
6. Be humble.
7. Do good.
8. Call in truth.
9. With all our heart.
10. If necessary, return to Him.
11. Be in agreement with nearest and dearest.
12. Keep His Words.
13. Keep His Commandments.
14. Ask according to His will.
15. Pray.
16. Believe.
As you can see, there are many components to the knock-and-you-shall-find promise. If you have been knocking for a while with limited results maybe check if all the boxes are ticked before you start banging that door down.
And this is the confidence that we have in him,
that, if we ask any thing according to his will,
he heareth us:Â
And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him,
because we keep his commandments,
and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.
The full promise
The full promise as given by Jesus reads like this,
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ABOUT THE CONTENT – All content on this website is copyrighted and you can read more about this here. Please also read the disclaimer about my authority and qualifications.
ABOUT THIS BLOG – We’re researching the truth of living forever according to GOD’s Holy Word; Sola Scripture. Popular opinion tells us that everyone who ‘believes’ and has ‘faith’ will go to heaven. Is this true? I decided to ask the prophets about the truth of it all.
ABOUT SCRIPTURE CARDS – If you want to send free Scripture Cards to your friends click here and you you want to buy hard copies of Scripture Cards you can click here.
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