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by Bible League International
Verse of the Day and Devotion
And the effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever. – Isaiah 32:17 ESV
Devotion
You don’t have to be perfect to participate in righteousness. The Apostle Paul says, “And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness.” (Romans 4:5) And you don’t have to be perfect to reap the benefits of righteousness. Paul goes on to say, ‘”David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works: “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.'” (Romans 4:6-8)
There are other blessings given to the righteous. Indeed, there are many of them. Our verse for today, for example, lists three of them.
First, righteousness will bring peace. The peace in question is not the kind of peace that Jeremiah talks about: ‘”They have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace.”‘ (Jeremiah 6:14) The peace in question, in other words, will be actual peace. It will be peace at the personal level, including peace in marriage, family, friendship, on the job, etc. It will also be peace at the national level, including internal peace within a country and external peace with foreign powers and nations.
Second, righteousness will bring quietness. Instead of being surrounded with screaming and yelling, there will be silence and calm. Instead of agitation and turmoil, there will be a tranquility of mind and soul. The forces of hell that are always trying to stir things up will be held at bay. The machinations of the evil one and his henchmen will be frustrated.
Finally, righteousness will bring trust. This will not be the gratuitous and complacent trust of the unrighteous women Isaiah mentions earlier in the chapter. That kind of trust will be shaken to its foundations. Isaiah tells them to “Tremble you women who are at ease, shudder, you complacent ones; strip and make yourselves bare, and tie sackcloth around your waste.” (Isaiah 32:11)
Indeed, peace, quietness, and trust will not be sporadic or temporary blessings of the righteous. They will last forever. True, there will still be tests and trials, tribulations and persecutions, in the lives of the righteous. (Matthew 10:16-25). But, underlying it all, peace, quietness, and trust will be blessings that uphold them.
