Isa.28:11,12 – Indeed, He will speak to this people
Through stammering lips and a foreign tongue,
He who said to them, “This is the place of quiet, give rest to the weary,”
And, “This is the resting place,” but they would not listen.
Just going through the day to day drama can be exhausting. People without Christ live just waiting for their next opportunity to get some peace in their lives. It could be the next drink, the upcoming weekend, a long awaited vacation, a long weekend or even something more nefarious. The big problem is that these quick fixes are also temporary fixes, soon you find yourself back in the same old mess looking for another way out. In today’s verse we have a prophesy from 700 BC from Isaiah the prophet. He was speaking about Assyrian invaders with a foreign dialect, Paul said he was also speaking about the Baptism in the Spirit and speaking in other tongues. Here we find the surprising answer to man’s longing for some kind of rest. It may seem strange at first but it is the way out, praying in tongues taps us into an amazing place of supernatural peace and rest. Here is a word from Dick Mills on the word rest that Isaiah used.
“rest, menuchah (meh-noo-chah); Resting place; place of stillness, repose, consolation, peace, rest; a quiet place; also the condition of restfulness. Menuchah is derived from nuach, a verb meaning “to rest, soothe, settle down, comfort.” Because Noah’s parents foresaw comfort through his life, they named him “Noah,” which comes from this root. Is. 28:12 states, “This is the resting place; let the weary rest!” Menuchah is greatly soothing, comforting, and settling, as in Ps. 23:2, “He leads me beside the waters of menuchah [the waters of quietness.”
The funny thing about this to me is the practical use of speaking in tongues. Paul said that when we pray in the Spirit that our spirit prays. Our inner man, our spirit, is the place that needs rest. Praying in the Spirit opens us on the inside to renewing and empowering to live differently than before. A vacation may not do it, that adult beverage won’t help, but praying in the Spirit will bring you into a different kind of rest, the rest of God. So take some time to get alone and pray in tongues, rest and peace will be the result.
