“Ah, stubborn children,” declares the Lord, “who carry out a plan, but not mine, and who make an alliance, but not of my Spirit, that they may add sin to sin; who set out to go down to Egypt, without asking for my direction, to take refuge in the protection of Pharaoh and to seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt!”— Isaiah 30:1-2 ESV
Have you ever, out of desperation, tried to seek help from a place where you really know you shouldn’t? Only for the supposed help to make your situation worse as you initially suspected?
For example, someone borrowing money from a loan shark only puts them into further financial problems. Or turning to a friend or family member who you’re aware of their shady dealings and their supposed help only causes you more trouble than solutions.
We get into these and other desperate situations due to impatience, disobedience or even carelessness.
Israel, during the time of Isaiah, had turned their back on God, which resulted in them being vulnerable and attacked by other nations. Since they didn’t have God’s backing, they turned to allies like Egypt.
In today’s verse, the Israelites were in a similar situation and instead of seeking help from the Lord, they decided to go down to Egypt which displeased the Lord. He said: “But by trusting Pharaoh, you will be humiliated, and by depending on him, you will be disgraced.” Isaiah 30:3 (NLT)
As Christians, sometimes we turn to God as a Last Resort instead of our First point of Consultation. This may occur because deep down we know that what we are trying to do isn’t fully the will of God. Or we are afraid that if we take the situation to God, we might not get the answer we want. So, we think we can go ahead without His input.
God is never obliged to answer our prayers how and when we want it answered. You may have prayed about a situation for so long and are fed up with waiting. So, you decide to implement plan B, knowing God will be displeased by it.
Sometimes it can be a matter of us just wanting to be in control of our lives and as such seeking help from places we shouldn’t. For example, from an unbeliever who doesn’t share or understand your faith and offers advice that is clearly against the will of God. You run with the advice because you think God is taking too long. This decision may be a sign of rebellion, and it would probably not turn out well.
Even though God wasn’t happy with the Israelites, being a merciful God, He was ready to help them, if they turned to Him. Likewise, we are doing ourselves no good if we continue to reject the love and guidance of God and want to do things our own way.
No matter how far you have gone, God is waiting to help but you need to turn and surrender to Him and He will deliver you.
Stay blessed,
LaraLex
Hills and Valleys 