Isaiah 50:7–But the Lord God helps me;
therefore I have not been disgraced;
therefore I have set my face like a flint,
and I know that I shall not be put to shame.

Generally we all seek throughout life to find confidence, whether that’s in what we do, who we look to depend on, or for favorable circumstances.  Yet we can make the mistake of not seeing those things/people being the result of the Lord, and His blessed provisions as our foundation and confidence. (James 1:17)

Even amongst unbelievers, it is God’s kindness they take for granted, thinking that such favorable people and circumstances can remain, without submitting to the Lord and His merciful patience.  What is coined “common grace” is God’s kindness to provide such blessings, that we would eventually repent of our sin to worship the Lord of all good given to us…(Luke 6:35-36, Romans 2:4)

Israel was infamously known to not only forget the Lord was their confidence and provision of “good”, but also refuse personal responsibility for what would cause Him to remove His presence, and be given over to their enemies (disgrace).  That God never removed His presence for “no reason”, but for Israel to examine their hearts towards Him before asking why His presence and their confidence were absent? (Isaiah 5:1-7)

The writer of the passage attributed his confidence to the Lord, therefore He would not be disgraced.  The fear of being disgraced cannot be avoided by trying to avoid it, but rather trusting in God as our confidence, because He will never be disgraced!  Though being humbled is certain in order to remove our pride for Christ to be exalted, to be disgraced is to fail in what God has for our lives all because we don’t trust Him…

The challenge for us will always be the determination of our direction.  Like the writer, he “set his face like a flint” towards God in the direction of true confidence,  Knowing he had evidence from times past that God cannot fail, so he knew he would not be disgraced.  Remembering God’s faithfulness helps us remove our false confidence to trust ourselves, because that will eventually lead to our disgrace. (Job 15:31, Proverbs 6:12-15, Acts 5:38-39)

In His Love, Ld