“Rise up, you women who are at ease, hear My voice;

You complacent daughters, give ear to My speech.”

Isaiah 32:9 ESV

It is not easy to swallow words of correction. Nor is it enjoyable to bear the consequences of our mistakes. What seems like the harshness of God’s chastisement is one of the greatest forms of His love. Here in this passage of Isaiah, God is correcting and exhorting His daughters of being complacent. When complacency happens in a women’s life, compromise is sure to follow.

The women God is referring to in this passage became comfortable in their lifestyles and soon enough, out of idleness and ease, their own hands made their own idols. No longer were they women of God. They became women of complacency.

With complacency follows compromise. With compromise follows consequences. The next part of this passage exposes the inevitable consequence of compromise.

“In little more than a year, you will shudder, you complacent women;

For the grape harvest fails, the fruit harvest will not come.”

Isaiah 32:10a ESV

When we begin to be at ease and live in comfort, we begin to compromise in subtle areas of life. Those subtle areas grow and affect the rest of who we become and what we do. God is warning His daughters, that if they continue to be complacent, consequences will take place. Their lives will be consumed in fear and worry. The outcome of their work will be fruitless. Rather than abiding in His Spirit, they will live in constant strife after the wind. When God sees His daughters in compromise, He gives an opportunity to repent.

“Strip and make yourselves bare, and tie sackcloth around your waist.

Isaiah 31:10b ESV

God’s loving rebuke will always be meant to lead us to repentance. Friends, we must obey God’s chastisement sooner rather than later. We must be women without excuse or stubbornness. There is blessing when we are quick to repent and ask for forgiveness.

God compares a life of rebelliousness to “thorns and briers,” “a palace forsaken,” and “a city deserted” (Isaiah 32:12-14 ESV). God is driven to warn us, to protect us, and to save us from a life of wilderness, emptiness, and loneliness. To repent, we need His Spirit.

“Until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is deemed a forest.

Isaiah 32:15 ESV

Only by His Spirit can we be fruitful and our lives plentiful. Only in Him, does He replace our wilderness for fruitfulness. The fruitfulness of God are the blessings of His Spirit.

“Then justice will dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness abide in the fruitful field.

And the effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever.”

Isaiah 32:16-17 ESV

The outcome of true repentance is explained here as justice, righteousness, peace, quietness, and trust. God desires for each of us to be blessed by His Spirit. The only ones who will not receive the blessings of His Spirit are those who refuse to repent. Friends, God has made Himself so accessible to us. All we need to do is come to Him. His forgiveness is for me and you, but do we ask? He is always available for us, but are we available for Him? His arms are always open, but do we come seek His embrace? He desires for us to receive the gift of Himself. He desires for us to receive the gift of His love.

“My people will abide in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places.

And it will hail when the forest falls down, and the city will be utterly laid low.

Happy are you who sow beside all waters, who let the feet of the ox and the donkey range free.”

Isaiah 32:18-20 ESV

In Him, we live in safety. In Him, we live in peace. We no longer have to strive because He gives us rest. No longer should we worry when troubles come because He turns it all into a blessing for us. No matter where He leads us, He makes our lives abundant.

Heavenly Father,

Thank You for Your patience with us. Forgive us for living lives of comfort and complacency. You call us to more. You died for more. Remove the idols that we have made for ourselves. Revive us in You. May we be women of courage, willing to come to You. May we be women of peace, willing to follow You. May we be women on fire, willing to serve You. May we be women completely hidden in You.

In Jesus Name,

Amen