Rested Assurance?

As a former US Marine, I gravitate easily toward God as King. Whether reading OT prophecy or a NT epistle, my eyes lock and load on the imperative commands. I want my marching orders. Whether it's my personality, wiring, exhortative gifting, or simply my sinful flesh ... that's how I read. It's probably why God has me writing for coaches. Such field generals likely find my work their kind of stuff.

Isaiah 40, however, contrasts the fragile brevity of humanity against the power and eternality of God. A summary verse in the first section reads, "The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever" (NASB). Here are some snippets of Raymond Orlund's writings, that puncture my paradigm and cause me pause:

"Isaiah is told to tell us that we are unreliable. ... Christianity is not about what we can do; it's about what God promises to do. Christianity is not fundamentally challenge; fundamentally it is assurance. It must be.

"Only God qualifes for our final trust. No human power or condition can stop Him. ... Human failure is costly, but it's not the end of our happiness. God's promise of salvation is final. He is committed to his own glory and our joy in His glory. And in that certainty, our hopes come to rest."

It's not hard to surmise that I am not the only "driven" kind of Christian. The church, heavily encumbered by American business goals of expansion, committed customer base, and glossy hip product, evidences that many goal-driven "ministers" exist. I hate that love for the law in me resembles the ambition in them. Guess we're all sinners. No news there.

According to Ortland, many of us may be missing the blessed rest in the simple assurance that God is, well ... God. And we are but dust.

Trying to take that from theological fact to life ethic,
Cory