An Impatient Heart
Isaiah 51:9 Wake up! Wake up! Arm of the LORD, clothe yourself with strength. Show your power the way you did long ago, as you have from ancient times. You are the one who destroyed Rahab. You defeated the Dragon.
We all go through awkward times of transition in our lives – from something we know well, to something far less certain. Perhaps it’s a new job, or a new relationship, or moving to a new city, or even a new country. Uncertainty is never a nice place to be, but it’s a road often travelled in life.
Of course, God promises to be with us, to guide us, to provide for us, to keep us safe, to make sure that we’re headed in the right direction. We know all that stuff. But when your future’s uncertain, how do you respond to God’s promises?
There seem to be two basic options: we can either respond in fear, or in faith. For many people, fear is their default option. I heard American author, Bo Stern speaking a few years ago now, at a time when a degenerative disease was draining the life out of her husband, leaving her to raise a young family. She said, “Hey, in my family, worry was considered to be a virtue.”
You might be surprised at how often you respond, be it to the simple uncertainties in life, or the great uncertainties in life, with worry and fear.
But here’s the good news. God doesn’t debit our account when we lean on Him for courage, for guidance and for help. He doesn’t charge us extra when we deliberately choose to respond in faith. The road of fear and the road of faith, cost exactly the same in our relationship with Him.
In fact, if truth be told, He absolutely loves it when we deliberately choose to respond to uncertainty in faith; by putting our complete trust in Him.
Here’s a prayer from the great Old Testament Prophet Isaiah at a fearful and uncertain time in Israel’s history; at a time when they could have been completely destroyed.
Wake up! Wake up! Arm of the LORD, clothe yourself with strength. Show your power the way you did long ago, as you have from ancient times. You are the one who destroyed Rahab. You defeated the Dragon. (Isaiah 51:9)
Imagine, just imagine, confronting your fears, your uncertainties, with that sort of confidence in God, with that sort of faith, with that sort of prayer.
God absolutely loves it, when we put our complete trust in Him.
That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.
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