Isaiah 32:9-20 Complacent
The people have become complacent; pleased with what they have, without paying attention to what is coming. Discipline is quickly on its way. Restoration too.
I had to look up the definition of complacent. From Dictionary.com, here is what I found: “pleased, especially with oneself or one’s merits, advantages, situation, etc., often without awareness of some potential danger or defect; self-satisfied.” In other words, they are too comfortable today to care about the trouble that is stalking tomorrow.
I would almost say this sounds like the life we are called to live by Jesus when He tells us not to worry about tomorrow. “Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof” (Matthew 6:34). But there is a difference. A BIG difference!
Someone who is complacent is pleased with themselves. “I have arrived at the place where I want to be.” They believe themselves to be master of their surroundings and have a self-confident attitude. They did it themselves!
Taking no thought for tomorrow has NOTHING to do with the self and everything to do with God. In the verses preceding this, Jesus is speaking about worrying over physical needs. God KNOWS our needs and HE has the ability to meet them. Our way out of worry is to seek God above ALL else. Look to our spiritual relationship with Him and the health of that relationship. THEN God can, and does, take care of the rest.
***This is NOT a guarantee that if you seek God first, nothing bad will ever happen to you or that you will be ‘healthy, wealthy, and wise’.***
What it does mean is that you know where your strength comes from. It comes from the Lord. He is your safety. He is your protection in times of trouble. He raises you up at just the right time. And He brings you low and through the lows to help you grow. There is no SELF-reliance. We are fully dependent on HIM.
Isaiah is speaking to the women in this part of his prophecy. I’m curious as to why. Is it because they are the ones behind the scenes, quietly managing everything and holding it all together? The influence of a godly mother and godly wife is immeasurable. She feeds faith into her family in all the little things she does. Every meal reflects love. Every stitch caries meaning. Every word reveals her heart.
The self-reliant feeds her views just as easily. She shows her love too, but it comes out in ways that reflect back on her. Here meals demand praise. Her stitches require recognition. Her words praise only success; hers and her children’s.
BOTH women will encounter hardship. Isaiah doesn’t say that only the complacent will see the danger coming in just over a year. They will both face it alongside their families. But the one who is up and about preparing beforehand will fare MUCH better. Not because of her willingness to work but because she heeded the words of God and took action. She didn’t sit back and enjoy what she had now and ignore tomorrow.
We are living in troubled times. I refuse to give into fear and listen to the THOUSANDS of reports of doom on the horizon. I look forward to tomorrow, most of the time. I tend to each day’s tasks; some requiring much more effort than others. I am by NO MEANS and example to live by!!! We would all have ‘Mt. Laundry’ piles waiting to be conquered. But I have learned what matters most. The MOST important part of my day is the time I get to spend with my Lord. It’s not always easy to carve out and is often taken in bits and pieces throughout the day. The next most important part is caring for those around me. This starts with my husband and spirals out to include my animals too. (Even when my husband gets angry at me for not being right beside him because I’m tending to the chickens.) And, YES, I’m in here somewhere. But it’s not a building up myself time but a refreshing, reviewing the issues God is working in me, and growth in my spirit that spills over into my life and how I interact with the people in it. My trust is in Him to bring me through whatever lies ahead in my life, those around me, and the world in general. GOD IS IN CONTROL. And I will trust Him to lead me where I need to go and impress on me the tasks HE knows are important for my life and walk with Him.
Father God, forgive me for burying my head in the sand at times. If I’m supposed to be listening to all these reports and responding in political arenas, YOU are going to have to speak to me plainly about it. You know my history with news media and ‘doom sayers’. I want to take the Philippians 4:8 way of thinking. Not ignoring the bad but not giving it a place of focus in my life. Not letting it find a place to fester.
