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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. You said, ‘No, we will flee on horses.’ Therefore, you will flee! You said, ‘We will ride off on swift horses.’ Therefore, your pursuers will be swift! (Isaiah 30:15-16).

John Wayne exemplifies the American way. If its in your way, hit it or shoot it. He’s got lots of followers: from Captain Kirk to James Bond to Terminator to… insert your favourite character. Get ‘r done, don’t worry about who gets pushed aside.

There is a lot of talk about bullying these days. We don’t want our children to be bullied. Studies are constantly being conducted to figure out how to prevent bullying. We want our schools to be bully free zones. A good goal.

Yet, it seems to me that too many adults are guilty of this crime. We get ahead by pushing others aside. Do I dare say, ‘it’s the American way’?

I remember attending a megachurch conference early in my years as a minister. There was a lot to learn there. Yet, I felt uncomfortable. The leader seemed like a bully. It was his way or the highway. But that was in the days before we had learned to name this. As it turned out, he ended his ministry in disgrace because, he was a bully.

One thing that lies behind a lot of bullying behaviour is fear. We need, all of us in one way or another, to be in control of our lives. When we aren’t, we become afraid and strike out at those we can intimidate. We control other people to give ourselves a semblance of control.

As Christians, we are called to a different life. One, in which we do not strive to control our lives. A significant antidote to bullying and this striving to control is hope, Christian hope that is. Out text for today does not use the word hope, but its in the background.

Israel has been running around on wild horses trying to secure themselves. They attempted to control their national fate by making alliances with other nations and by relying on their own military. It wasn’t working for them.

So, God reminds them of the way things were supposed to be. They were supposed to trust in God. Their salvation was in him, not in other nations and not in their own military. God called them to repentance and rest. In other words, to turn back to him and wait for him to bring security.

But they were impatient, and they had forgotten their history. Abraham and Sarah waited decades for Isaac. Jacob spent 20 years with Laban. Joseph languished 17 years in slavery and prison. Moses shepherded sheep for 40 years. David waited 15 years from anointing to crowning; many as an outlaw.

In all these situations God worked in peoples lives, preparing them for what lay ahead. They waited. They put their hope in God and he secured the outcome. And it was good.

As we near the end of this pandemic it becomes more difficult to be patient. There are stories of people bullying their way to the front of the vaccine line. If its your turn for the vaccine, my counsel is to go get a shot. But let’s not put our hope in this vaccine. And let’s not be bullies.

Let’s remember that our true hope in God. He has our future secured in Christ. Our inheritance is guaranteed. Thus, we can continue to look out for those falling through the cracks; to lift up those who have been bullied.