Perhaps you’ve used this line when rushing around juggling projects and home life. You greet a friend, and with no time to chat you exclaim, “gotta run, no rest for the wicked!”

I heard this phrase all growing up and still use it myself. It actually flows from a biblical reference having nothing at all to do with busyness.

In a long-running screed against those who reject God, Isaiah the prophet brought these words:

“There is no peace,” says the Lord, “for the wicked.”

While I use the phrase to poke fun at myself, Isaiah penned the original as an ominous warning. Serious words to consider—like a BRIDGE OUT sign flashing over a highway.

Our world holds some wicked people and to be honest, it’s comforting to know there is no peace for them. The Lord is not incomplete in his judgement (even if I question His timing).

To be even more honest, I possess a heart a tic away from wickedness. This phrase opens my thoughts to where I slide without leaning on the Holy Spirit’s direction and guidance in my life.

Isaiah 48:22 in reading the Bible cover to cover in 2022

Photo by Tim Mossholder