No Fear!

No Fear!

For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee. Isaiah 41:13 KJV

This is the season of fear. Everywhere you turn, there are events and stories that grip your heart and threaten to destroy its peace. We hear of war, famine, earthquake, hurricane, tornado, fires and related scary stories, and you wonder where and when these are all going. It does not appear that there will be any respite from any of these things, yet, God speaks, asking me to turn away from the physical reality around me and focus on him. He has a word for me for today, and that word in summary, is this: in him, there is no room for fear. Have you heard that word? 

It then means that long before the fear comes, I must have sorted out the word that is appropriate for that fear. I cannot wait until I have reached the middle of the river before I start to paddle, or before I realise that I cannot swim. The time of peace is the time for preparation for the storms that are coming. It is not a matter of IF but WHEN. I cannot argue my way out of tough times, or avoid them by prayer and fasting; they are a fundamental part of the process for my growth and development. Tough times do not always mean that I have sinned; they are reminders that I an human, a work in progress, and on a journey to eternal life. 

This is why today's extract is quite important. God speaks here, telling me ahead of time not to fear. He does not send anyone else to me, but he speaks to my heart directly, saying he is holding my hand. What is the effect of this: holding my hand is a confidence-booster. If God holds my hand, nothing can happen to me without his permission. It has to touch God first before it is allowed to touch me. His hand is such that he can hold all of the world and its fullness and still have plenty of space. He is the everlasting God, the Almighty, which means that everything created or formed by him answers to him. How does a created thing ever become more powerful than its creator?

If God holds me, I am safe. If anyone else holds me, I am only as safe as he who holds me is. If a man cannot first secure himself, how can he secure the life of another? We are talking about a God who spoke in Genesis about the seed of the woman, and centuries later, the word spoken came to pass. This is a God who spoke of the end of all things, and without doubt, recent events show that all the things spoken about are all coming to pass. Can I ask myself: is the God I claim to know, serve and follow the God that is introduced here?

And the God speaks right to the fear, addressing the concerns I may have. He says he will help me, as he knows I cannot help myself. He is the Help of Israel, and Israel is still being helped till today, despite the fact that it does not fully acknowledge God. Israel is helped because of the promise God made, not really because Israel was the best of people. We stand where we are, not because we merit his grace, but because of his help. There is no room for pride or self-sufficiency here, and all I am and have flow from who God is, not who I am. I appreciate God for his grace and help, and I go forward in that assurance that God has my back. His time of favour is here.