Skip to main content

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.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Virgin?

           Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)           This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 1:18)           But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”            “How will this be,” Mary asked the...
Post a Comment
Read more

Saved?

  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:28-30) “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ ” (Matthew 7:21-23) Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.” (Romans 3:4)   What conclusion do you draw when someone who was raised in a Christian family and church, perhaps even playing a significant role in a chur...
Post a Comment
Read more

Meditations of the Heart

  May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm19:14)           As I started writing this post, I noted that the meditations of my heart are all over the mental landscape, from a hub where eight superhighways come together to a lunar or nuclear landscape. Do you see my error? The moment I read the word meditation , I think about thoughts. But what’s described here is the meditations of our hearts ; our wills.           While the meditations of our minds may be all over the place, the meditations of our wills tend to be a little more stable by the time we are adults. We no longer tend to want to pursue the ten separate careers we did in any given day as children. Part of this is humble acceptance of reality. We come to understand that we can’t do it all. I think another part of it is disappointmen...
Post a Comment
Read more