Depending on the Lord – Isaiah 10:20

"And it shall come to pass in that day that [they] ... will depend on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth."

Let's face it. When things get really tough, we depend on whatever seems to us most solid and most real. Usually, that's ourselves. Sometimes it's an authority figure such as a parent, or an authority structure such as the government. But Isaiah is prophesying about a time when people will depend on God "in truth."

Here is the whole verse.

"And it shall come to pass in that day that the remnant of Israel, and such as have escaped of the house of Jacob, will never again depend on him who defeated them, but will depend on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth."

You may know the story. For generations, the Israelites had drifted away from God's laws and God's worship, trusting instead in the idols they made with their own hands. Isaiah was warning them that God would soon turn them over to their enemies, the Assyrians. As captives in a foreign land, they would be completely dependent upon their captors for every aspect of their survival. But the day would eventually come when God would bring a small group, a "remnant," back to the land of their birth, where they would then depend on Him only.

Later in Isaiah we find the same process summed up in two verses.

"Who among you fears the Lord? Who obeys the voice of His Servant? Who walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the Lord and rely upon his God. Look, all you who kindle a fire, who encircle yourselves with sparks: walk in the light of your fire and in the sparks you have kindled –- this you shall have from My hand: you shall lie down in torment." (Isaiah 50:10,11)

I call it arranging our own blessings. When we have no light, we "encircle" ourselves with the sparks of whatever seems best to us. It's much harder to trust in something we can't see, much less control.

But God does not let this plan work. By His own hand, the scripture says, we will lie down in torment. He will even give us over to our enemies. Depending on how hard-headed we are, He will allow us to suffer as long as it takes to discover the uselessness of every support structure except Himself.

Nevertheless, the day will come when at least some of us (a remnant) will figure out that God alone is to be depended on in truth. The Hebrew word for truth, "emet," means something that is reliable and permanent. The word is made up of three letters from the Hebrew alphabet: the first letter, the middle letter, and the last letter. God created everything, God sustains everything, and God will complete everything.

Thus it is wise, when the storms of life come upon us or the darkness surrounds us, to choose to trust in God alone. We should not think of painful trials as the work of our enemy, but as the work of God to bring us to a total dependence on Him. Even if the enemy does have a part to play, he will be most upset, and most defeated, if in our distress we turn quickly to God with our radical, and restful, trust.