Thursday, April 25, 2013

Verse Mapping Insights - Isaiah 30:15

Today's post is a rough outline of some thoughts and insights I had while doing some verse mapping with this week's online bible study verse!  Please excuse the rough formatting, I just wanted to get my thoughts down :)

"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" 

~Isaiah 30:15 (King James Version) 

"Come back and quietly trust in me. Then you will be strong and secure.”

~Isaiah 30:15 (Good News Translation) 


Definitions with Google Dictionary:

  • Salvation - A source of being saved or protected from harm 
  • Repentance - feeling or expressing sincere regret or remorse about one's wrongdoings or sins 
  • Rest - Ceasing work or movement in order to relax and refresh oneself 
  • Quietness - Making no sound (this definition just sounds peaceful! Pun intended :) 
  • Trust - Firm belief in the reliability, truth, and ability of someone or something 
  • Strength - The emotional or mental qualities necessary in dealing with situations or events that are distressing or difficult 
By feeling and expressing to the Lord sincere regret and remorse about our wrongdoings and sins, and by ceasing work and movement at times in order to relax and refresh ourselves, we are saved and protected from harm. 

By making no sound in order to focus on the Lord, and having a firm belief in the reliability, truth, and abilities of the Lord, we develop positive and stable emotional and mental states that are necessary to deal with distressing and difficult situations.  

We need to regularly go to a quiet place to focus on the Lord, whispering to Him, and listening to Him. We need to trust Him and His great plans for our lives, and have confidence in Him and in our abilities with Him at our sides. This gives us strength to get through life, and the strength to persevere through whatever we go through! 

We are saved from bad things in live (stressors) by returning from any distractions to focusing on the Lord, repenting and confessing any sins, and resting in His perfect peace.

By focusing on Him, we find His perfect peace and are able to rest. This helps us to grow even closer to Him. This is all our salvation, which saves us from death, and a life of stress and pain!


God bless!!!  :)  

4 comments:

  1. Natalie, thanks for stopping by my blog today. I'm glad you found me. Don't you just love verse mapping? I love the definition for rest, but find it very difficult to do. Somehow I always feel guilty "resting", like I need to be doing something productive. If only we could see "rest" as a verb, something we need to actively do to restore our physical body and our spirit. We keep our minds so occupied and our bodies busy that we drown out His voice.

    Praying for your de-stressing opportunities!

    Mindy
    The Howell Blessings

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    1. I like that idea, thinking of "rest" as a verb, and not seeing it as being lazy or as a bad thing, because we need it once in awhile!!! Thanks for your comment and prayers! :)

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  2. Great explanation of the verse Natalie. Thank you for sharing. My heart just swelled each time I read the words, "Perfect Peace". Oh how I want that! And I know, it is found only in our Lord.

    Blessings my friend,
    Erin Cuomo, OBS Group Leader

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    1. Thank you for stopping by!!! Yes, I love His Perfect Peace! There is nothing better!!! :)

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