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Do Not Fear

                 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.  All who rage against you will surely be ashamed and disgraced; those who oppose you will be as nothing and perish. Though you search for your enemies, you will not find them. Those who wage war against you will be as nothing at all.
For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, “Do not fear;” I will help you. Do not be afraid, you worm Jacob, little Israel, do not fear, for I myself will help you,” declares the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. (Isaish 41:10-14)

One of the warnings that I heard decades ago was that we should never claim for ourselves promises that were made to someone else. So, when I read passages like this on, addressed to “worm Jacob, little Israel,” I’m reluctant to wrap my arms around it and shout, “Mine!” But God is still God, and I am certainly no better than worm Jacob, little Israel.

The first thing that this passage suggests about how God sees Israel and us is as someone who is opposed. One or more opponent is at war with us. We have reason to fear. We are in danger – from within and without. We are worm _____ and little ______.  Our (my) reaction is to hear accusation in those phrases, the reality is different. A few days ago, I shared a hierarchy list: God, angels, us, and all flocks and herds, and the animals of the wild, the birds in the sky, and the fish in the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas. I also described the difference between God and angels as the size of the universe (93 billion lightyears) and the distance between angels and man as the distance from the sun to the earth (93 million miles.) That’s not something we can change. There’s no more than can be done to change that distance. God isn’t scolding us for our failure to become angels or Him. He’s saying that our failure doesn’t matter.

Three times, God tells us not to fear. In addition, He tells us not to be afraid and not to be dismayed. He says,

I am your God

I will strengthen you

I will uphold you

I will help you

I myself will help you

He goes on to describe Himself in terms of our relationship with Him. He is our Lord, our Redeemer, our Holy One. What we are doesn’t change what He is. We don’t need to fear or be dismayed because not only does He see us as we are (weak and miserable) but He sees Himself as He is, and our enemies as they are. And He’s able to do what we cannot. He will strengthen, uphold, and help us, whether that means making our enemies disappear, or holding our hands as He walks through the danger with us, which is one means by which He strengthens us.

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