A Scary Place
Isaiah 41:10 Don't worry – I am with you. Don't be afraid – I am your God. I will make you strong. I will help you. I will support you with my right hand that brings victory.
I don’t know about you, but as I look around, it seems to me that the world can be a scary place. Take spiders and snakes for instance. Here in Australia where I live, we’re seriously over-represented in the list of the top ten most venomous animals in the world.
There was an article in the paper recently, about an elderly woman having a shower, and she looked up only to see a huge python in the skylight directly above the shower. Sensational! Can you just imagine?
So as a child I had good reason to be afraid of these creatures. Even today, the idea of a spider crawling into my bed, or a snake under the bed, these are seriously scary thoughts to me.
And let’s face it, fear – whatever form it takes – has this way of rocking you to your core. God knows that and that’s not how He wants us to live. So time and time again in His Word, He says to His people: Do not be afraid! And almost always, it’s right at the time when the people He’s talking to have every reason to be afraid.
Don’t worry – I am with you. Don’t be afraid – I am your God. I will make you strong. I will help you. I will support you with my right hand that brings victory. (Isaiah 41:10)
Now, God spoke those words to Israel when He was about to set them free after seventy years, three generations, of slavery in Babylon. Great! But the way He planned to do that was through a war. Through King Cyrus of Persia taking on the Babylonians and winning. Of course as powerless slaves, the Israelites were petrified. They couldn’t even remember what freedom tasted like, let alone dare to hope. All they could see was that there was a dangerous war brewing, a war in which they could well end up as collateral damage.
It’s human nature. So maybe, you’re in a bit of a fearful place right at the moment. And just maybe, you’re rocked to the core and you need to hear God speak into your fear.
So here it is, drink it in: Do not be afraid, for I am your God. I’ll make you strong. I’ll help you. I’ll support you and bring you victory.
That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.
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