“And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever.” Isaiah 32:17
Dear Ones:
There has never been one so calm and quiet as the Lord Jesus. When we go out into the wilderness, into the forests of the towering mountains, by a still, mirror like lake, we are overwhelmed by the quiet, the stillness. One of the things that is so impressive about this stillness and calm, is the depth of it. The overwhelming spectacle of the majesty of the mountains, and the pristine purity of the crystal clear lake, accentuates the profoundness, and experience of the quietness. If we turn our gaze upon the person of Christ, we are immediately confronted with a vision vastly superior to that of nature, for we see God in the flesh, the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. We see the Creator in the flesh, the Redeemer of all the ages. In the days of his sojourn on this earth, he was clothed with the weakness and frailty of human flesh, but this in no wise diminished, or altered who He was by nature. His blessed calm and quietness permeated His existence, and set the tone for all that He said and did.
We see Jesus going quietly into the wilderness to be tempted of the Devil. We see Him return to Nazareth, enter quietly into the synagogue, take the book of Isaiah, and read to all: “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.” (Luke 4:21) We see Him embark on His ministry, living in the calm and confidence of His Father’s fellowship, being zealously, in the “business” of the Father. John tells us that Jesus’ works were of such a quantity, and quality, that there were not enough books in the world to contain the account of what He did. And yet, we see Him quiet and calm. This does not mean that He did not speak strongly to the Pharisees about their hypocrisy, and their twisted sense of justice and righteousness. It does not mean that He did not call loudly to the crowds, beseeching them to come to Him, to drink of living water. Nor does it mean that He was not fully engaged, and angrily so, in casting out of the temple those who had made it a den of thieves. What we do see is that He very quietly bent down, and wrote on the ground, when the accusers of the woman caught in adultery, wanted Him to pronounce a sentence of death upon the woman because of her sin. He rises very calmly with the exact word for the moment, one which would certainly save the woman, but also, convict her accusers. Perhaps the most amazing picture of His blessed calm was with His disciples at the last supper. He knew “that His time was at hand,” the time of His suffering and death. He also knew that the hand of the traitor, Judas Iscariot, was at the table with all the other disciples. He speaks to them of His coming death, and yet, in His total selflessness, declares: “These things I have spoken unto you, that you might have PEACE.” (Jn. 16:33) Because He lived in the calm of the fathomless depths of fellowship with His Father, there was no end to what He could do, accomplish, or demonstrate, of His nature…power, and yet lowliness and humility.
Dear Father, You have called us to a quiet life, even though it will certainly be filled with much to do. Strengthen us this day to live DEEPLY with Christ, abiding in Him as our peace, our quietness. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Love, Dad