At ease?

"Rise up, you women who are at ease, and hear my voice; give ear to my word, you complacent daughters."  Isaiah 32:9

I've been struggling with a spirit of complacency lately.  I look at my life, I see things that need to change, and I know in my heart what I need to do to change, but I don't always make the effort.  Or sometimes God tells me to pray for someone or a situation, and discouragement takes over.  "Why try?  I might mess it up."  And often, too often, things stay the same.

These "women at ease" who are warned in Isaiah 32 seem to have the same problem.  Trouble is coming in the form of an Assyrian invasion, and rather than ready themselves for it, they remain complacent and do nothing.  Instead of trembling and trading their clothes for sackcloth (verse 11), they maintain the status quo.  How many times have I done the same when a troubling world event or another clear sign of the end times comes across my radar?  I don't always take it seriously; I make silly excuses ("I'm just not into politics," "Someone else can take care of that," "I have too much going on to think about that right now") instead of allowing the fear of the Lord take over and pray.

Which is what I think these complacent women are supposed to do.  The culture and the time in which they lived prevented them from doing much else than maintaining a household, supporting their husbands if they were married, and praying and serving the Lord.  Granted, most of us ladies have a lot more on our plate in the here and now, but it should really always come back to these basic duties.  And if I devote myself to praying for anything and everything He instructs me to, all three of those excuses I named earlier are rendered null and void.

• "I'm just not into politics" -- Well, guess what?  Even if I'm not that knowledgeable about this particular matter I can still pray that His will will be done.  
• "Someone else can take care of that." -- But I should still pray in case everyone else gives that same excuse.  And since when is it a negative thing for more than one person to pray for something anyway?
• "I have too much going on to think about that right now." -- We can't all live in a house of prayer and focus only on intercession day in and day out, but we can certainly pray in the midst of our daily lives.  Even a quick prayer is heard by the Lord if it's a heartfelt one.

Believe me, this post is mostly serving to just nail me.  I think it's something I needed to write for myself since these verses seemed to jump off the page when I read them earlier today.  As we go further and further into these end times, more and more "Assyrian invasions" are going to happen; things like war, famine, persecution, disease, and death may jump off my radar and into my own backyard, and I don't want to be caught with a complacent spirit.  With times as serious as these, complacency could easily lead to unpreparedness, timidity, and ultimately, a hardened heart.  We may not always know what or how to pray, but if we yield to His Spirit He will intercede for us (Romans 8:26-27).  

And speaking of the Holy Spirit, check out verses 15 through 18 of Isaiah 32.  It describes the wilderness becoming a "fertile field," and righteousness and peace pervading the "peaceful habitation" God's people will find themselves in when "the Spirit is poured out upon [us] from on high."  He saves His people through divine intervention, but He also pours out His Spirit in order to usher in a period of righteousness and security.

Because this chapter is all prophecy and no narrative, we don't really know if these women stayed complacent or if they rose up and interceded for themselves and for their people.  But I know this serves as a reminder for myself.  Whether a particular hardship is imminent or everything looks comfy on the horizon, I had better make my prayerlife a top priority.  Even if a situation is complex or unclear, even if my day is packed with errands and to-do lists, even if I simply don't feel like it, I know I need to get on my knees and pray.  We all do.  If you can't find the words to pray, ask for the Holy Spirit to help you; God gives His Spirit without measure (John 3:34) so I'm pretty certain He never tires of us asking!  And pray that the same Spirit who is interceding for you will also move in a powerful way over the subject of your prayer.  So rise up and say good-bye to complacency.  Maybe a fertile field will rise out of those briars and thorns.

delightful plants?

"For you have forgotten the God of your salvation and have not remembered the rock of your refuge. Therefore you plant delightful plants and set them with vine slips of a strange god. In the day that you plant it you carefully fence it in, and in the morning you bring your seed to blossom; but the harvest will be a heap in a day of sickness and incurable pain." Isaiah 17:10-11

Sobering prophecy, isn't it? And what does it mean for us? Let's break it down, phrase by phrase, to get to the heart of the matter:

• "you have forgotten the God of your salvation" : The sin that starts it all. This act will have a profound effect on the events described in the rest of the passage. In what areas of your life to you tend to "forget" God?
  
• "you plant delightful plants" : Often, we try to control what we will reap by choosing what to sow. We want what is pleasant and desirable, so we plant "delightful plants" instead of ones that might require some work (or worse, ones that might come with thorns or thistles). What "plants" are you choosing in your life, and what "plants" are you trying to avoid?
  
• "set with vine slips of a strange god" : Not only do we try to rely on our own judgments and abilities, we often call on the help of another ("strange god") rather than the help of God. What's worse, these "vine slips" we use to bolster our efforts will most likely corrupt what we've started. What we've planted will become our worst nightmare once harvested because of this corruption. Even though we've planted flowers, we will harvest weeds. What "vine slips" are you allowing to corrupt your garden?
  
• "you carefully fence it in" : This sounds like a last-ditch effort to really make sure we've got everything under control. Rather than trust God, we "carefully fence in" what we've planted in order to protect it from the elements. But by fencing in one area of our lives, we end up fencing every area in until we are completely blocked off from all that God has for us. We protect our plants, but at what cost? What areas of your life do you try to "fence in," and just what are you trying to protect yourself from?
  
• "you bring your seed to blossom" : At this point, everything seems to be going to plan. We've thought of everything we need, and everything appears to be in place for some delightful plants to grow. We see the results of our labor in some blossoms, but these provide a false sense of security and will most likely result in complacency. "Look at all that I've accomplished on my own. I don't need God's help with this. Looks like I can make it to harvest without Him." Do you ever catch yourself thinking these thoughts?
  
• "the harvest will be a heap..." : The inevitable occurs here. Our best-laid plans crumble before our very eyes, and the plants we reap bring sickness and pain. The word "heap" in this verse suggests that the harvest was barely gathered up before its effects (sickness and pain) hit those who harvested it. Rather than bundle the crop up and bring it elsewhere (whether it is the threshing floor, a press, a marketplace, or a storehouse), the workers have hastily abandoned it where it was reaped. While we were expecting abundance and prosperity from our plants, all we are left with is a messy heap of weeds, the pain of regret, and the consequences that come with not relying on the One who created us. Can you look back on your life and see a "heap" where there was supposed to be a harvest?

We've all had times like this. They may not have always resulted in "sickness and incurable pain," but they most likely caused pain to a degree. As mentioned in a previous post, God can use that pain to draw you back to Him. And if you ask for His wisdom and guidance in everything that you do, He will be faithful in providing a wonderful harvest when the time comes. Rely on Him.