Finding Rest in Righteousness (Isaiah 57:1–2)

“For the righteous man is taken away from calamity. He enters into peace. They rest in their beds who walk in their uprightness.”
– Isaiah 57:1–2

Oh, what a picture? Just let this truth soak in today. God has designed rest for the righteous. There is rest in righteousness. That’s that’s the clear message of Isaiah 57:1–2. “For the righteous man is taken away from calamity. He enters into peace.” Righteousness leads to peace. Those who walk uprightly have rest in their beds.

Isaiah 57:1–2 Tells Us that Righteousness is Costly

Now we know from all throughout the Bible that righteousness, doing that which is right, is often costly in this world. It often leads to challenges in this world. Following Jesus uprightly will lead to all kinds of consequences in this world. Jesus said this. You’ll be slandered. You’ll be persecuted. And you’ll be opposed in different ways.

And yet, the beauty of Isaiah 57:1–2, is that even when these things come, you can rest when you are walking uprightly with God. No matter what happens to you in this world, you have a peace that the Bible says passes all understanding, for those who are resting in Jesus and in his righteousness.

Isaiah 57:1–2 Helps Us Walk Uprightly

So we pray, God, help us today to walk uprightly. We pray Isaiah 57:2 over our lives. Help us to walk in our uprightness, in such a way that when we lay our heads on our pillows tonight, God, that we will have righteous thoughts, desired righteous desires, made righteous decisions, decisions that are right and good, according to your word, in your eyes. God, we pray for righteousness and the peace that flows from it in each of our lives.

And God, even as we pray that, we know we are prone to unrighteousness. We are prone to unrighteous thoughts, desires, words, decisions, actions. And we praise you, Jesus, as the completely perfect, completely righteous one, in whom there is no sin. And Jesus, we praise you for dying on the cross for our sin, for becoming sin for us in order that we might become the righteousness of God. In this way, Jesus, you are our peace. Jesus, you are our rest.

This Verse Leads Us to Find Rest in Christ

So we want to walk in uprightness today. We want to lay our heads on our pillows tonight, having lived righteously before you, oh God. At the same time, we know that we can only find total rest when we are trusting in you, Lord Jesus, and in your righteousness. So we pray Isaiah 57:1–2 over our lives, that we would walk in righteousness in ways that lead to peace and rest in Jesus. In his name, we pray. Amen.

David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.

David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow MeCounter CultureSomething Needs to ChangeBefore You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.

Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.

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