15 For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength. But you refused 16 and said, "No! We will flee upon horses"— therefore you shall flee! and, "We will ride upon swift steeds"— therefore your pursuers shall be swift! 17 A thousand shall flee at the threat of one, at the threat of five you shall flee, until you are left like a flagstaff on the top of a mountain, like a signal on a hill.
18 Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.
THOUGHTS by Ben Masters, senior at GMU:
Here at George Mason, "busy" is default. And things are beginning to get busier; April brings Pride Week, International Week, final projects and papers... and who knows what else. It's one of those seasons I'm not sure I'll survive-- rushing from place to place, not getting nearly enough sleep, trying to get everything done. Into this context Isaiah drops this string of verses, deep and ringing like the rhythms rolling off of one of B-Buss' djembes. Rest. Quietness. Wait.
What gets me is that this rest is not complacent-- in it is salvation. Quietness isn't a sign of weakness-- it's strength. And the waiting isn't about us being impatient to get the next thing over and done, but God is waiting to be gracious. God is waiting to show mercy and establish justice. God is waiting for us to slow down enough to see that and to let "God give God" as St. Augustine puts it. Maybe if we pause, we might even hear an invitation to join in the work of justice, mercy, and peace-- not out of anxiety, but out of whatever quiet strength that Isaiah is hinting at.
Here at George Mason, "busy" is default. And things are beginning to get busier; April brings Pride Week, International Week, final projects and papers... and who knows what else. It's one of those seasons I'm not sure I'll survive-- rushing from place to place, not getting nearly enough sleep, trying to get everything done. Into this context Isaiah drops this string of verses, deep and ringing like the rhythms rolling off of one of B-Buss' djembes. Rest. Quietness. Wait.
What gets me is that this rest is not complacent-- in it is salvation. Quietness isn't a sign of weakness-- it's strength. And the waiting isn't about us being impatient to get the next thing over and done, but God is waiting to be gracious. God is waiting to show mercy and establish justice. God is waiting for us to slow down enough to see that and to let "God give God" as St. Augustine puts it. Maybe if we pause, we might even hear an invitation to join in the work of justice, mercy, and peace-- not out of anxiety, but out of whatever quiet strength that Isaiah is hinting at.
PRAYER:
(Breathe slowly for a few moments, holding the breath in for a moment before breathing out.)
Holy Spirit, breath of life, breathe into us space and time in which to behold your grace, and to behold each other as neighbor and family. Rise up to show us your mercy, O God, and renew in us your dream of a world restored to wholeness. AMEN.
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Ben Masters is a senior at GMU involved with LCM. He plans to spend the year after graduation involved with Lutheran Volunteer Corps, and he blogs at http://letusbebread.blogspot.com/
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These devotions are provided by Lutheran Campus Ministry at George Mason University . Feel free to share them with your friends! For more information on our ministry and events, see http://gmu.edu/org/lutheran
You can subscribe to these devotions by RSS or email from http://lentendevotions.blogspot.comThese devotions are provided by Lutheran Campus Ministry at George Mason University . Feel free to share them with your friends! For more information on our ministry and events, see http://gmu.edu/org/lutheran
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