"I love the sense of satisfaction that I get when I’ve done a swimming workout or race, and know that I gave my whole being and heart to God in every moment of the swim. It’s the best worship I can offer him."
Isaiah 30
This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: "In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it". Isaiah 30:15This verse rather jumped off the page when I read it recently. There seems to be so much packed into one short sentence.
Repentance is an essential part of God's salvation. We need to repent of (turn from) sin and to turn towards God. I well remember a friend saying of a businessman who was showing interest in the gospel, "If you became a Christian through signing a big cheque, he would be first in the queue. But because you become a Christian by admitting that you cannot do it alone and by repenting, he is last in the queue".
But remember "Repentance is not simply a 'once for all' event – rather it is a continual alignment of the direction of our lives, so that we keep in step with God" (John Stephenson)
As sportspeople we tend to be activists. The more passive words "rest, quietness, trust" are hard for us. The idea of doing our training (our work) for God is much easier than being quiet before God. Schooled in the performance driven culture of sport where you are only as good as your last game, it is hard for us to rest and trust for our salvation. Even as mature Christians we can easily allow thoughts that God will help us run faster if we never miss church or read the Bible every day, to creep into our thinking. No, our salvation is all of God's grace in repentance and rest, in quietness and trust.
As Philip Yancey puts it so helpfully: "There is nothing I can do to make God love me more. There is nothing I can do to make God love me less".
Amen but we still have to "work out our salvation in fear and trembling" (Philippians 2:12) - and in quietness and trust.