Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate, And the LORD have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land. But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be eaten: as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them, when they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof.

Isaiah 6:11-13

Explanation:
In verses 9 and 10, God told Isaiah that his message would be to people who wouldn’t listen and wouldn’t understand. He told him as a result they would not turn back to God and be healed. This didn’t mean that there would be no results. He was speaking in a national sense. How do we know this?
Because Isaiah asked what we would probably ask with such a forecast in verse 11. “Lord, how long?” How long am I supposed to have this kind of ministry with these kinds of results? God goes on to describe a coming judgement of the people of Jerusalem and Judea in verses 11 and 12. He was speaking here of the exile of these people out of the land.
But the good news comes in verse 13. There would be a remnant. A small percentage of the people would believe. They would be like a “holy seed” that would spring up again in the land. It would be like a stump from which the “holy seed” would spring. There would be life again.
Isaiah needed to know that his ministry would not be totally in vain. There would be a remnant. God’s purposes would be accomplished. God was not requiring “success” but faithfulness.

Application:
Isaiah’s response earlier in the passage ought to be our response to God’s calling. When God says, “Who will go..?” our answer must be, “Here am I. Send me.” When we are obedient to go, we must not get weary in well doing. Everything will not go as we wish. We must remember that God desires faithfulness in us, and will always be faithful to us. It reminds me of this song of praise to God:

Standing on this mountaintop
Looking just how far we’ve come
Knowing that for every step
You were with us
Kneeling on this battle ground
Seeing just how much You’ve done
Knowing every victory
Was Your power in us
Scars and struggles on the way
But with joy our hearts can say
Yes, our hearts can say
Never once did we ever walk alone
Never once did You leave us on our own
You are faithful, God, You are faithful

Response:
• How have you seen God be faithful to you in your life?
• How can you be more faithful to him?
• What is God calling you to do in this season of life?