Stop That

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 2:20-22

Isaiah chapter two ends with the command, “Stop regarding man!” Some translations say, “Stop trusting in man.” Of course, the command to stop doing it implies that this was something they were doing. Their faith was in men.

In one sense, it isn’t wrong to have faith in others. We have to have faith in other people to some degree. We exercise faith when we make an online purchase or visit a doctor to get treatment for some illness. This is not the kind of faith Isaiah is rebuking.

The faith Isaiah is correcting is the kind of faith where faith in men becomes a substitute for faith in God. I think one way to detect a misplaced faith is the degree of anger or disappointment we feel when a person lets us down. It is also seen in the level of anxiety we feel about how things are going to turn out based on who might be making decisions. If our faith is mostly in men and not God, we will struggle with things like anger, fear, anxiety, and discouragement.

When our faith is firmly in the Lord, we have the peace that passes all understanding. Later Isaiah will write, “You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you,” (Isaiah 26:3).