FEAR NOT

FEAR NOT

READ:
Isaiah 43:1-4

Fear not, for I have redeemed
you; I have called you by your
name; you are Mine. -Isaiah 43:1

My wife became seriously ill during her pregnancy with our second child.  As the doctors struggled to find the problem, she continued to grow weaker-dangerously so.

Watching her suffer was a helpless and horrible feeling for me, and there were days when it felt as if God were not hearing our prayers.  One Sunday, while I was looking for comfort from Scripture, my eyes landed on the first verse in Isaiah 43.

"Fear not," it begins, and ends with "you are Mine."  Instantly, the Holy Spirit made the words personal.  The intimate way God addresses Israel reminded me of His always-present attention to us too:  "When you pass through the waters...through the rivers...through the fire" (v.2.).  Each phrase rose up in crescendo, from the pages to my heart.

Our comfort in that hour came not from promises of healing or miracles, but from knowing we were never alone.  We had many other frightening times, including just after Ethan's birth, when it looked as if both he and Cheryl would be lost.  But God had used His words to comfort us and prepare us for those harder moments!

Let these words be a reminder to you that you are never alone. -Randy Kilgore

At times our fear may loom so large,
We long for proof that God is near;
It's then our Father says to us,
"Have Faith, My child, and do Not fear." -D. De Haan
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Never forget in the darkness,
what you know to be true in the light.

INSIGHT
Against a backdrop of destruction and exile (Isaiah 10:3-4; 39:6-7), God encouraged Israel with an assuring "Fear not" (43:1).  Speaking in the first person, God affirmed that Israel was His chosen people and had a special relationship with Him:  "I have called you by your name; you are Mine" (v.1).  Here God asserted once again that He was "the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel" (v.3), their Creator, Redeemer, Owner, Protector, and Savior (vv. 1-3).  Israel need not fear because they were greatly loved by God (v.4).  It would be foolish for Israel not to seek God's help or depend solely and fully on Him (31:1-3).  He calls them (and us) to "return to Him" (31:6; 55:7).

Have a blessed day.
God Our Creator's Love Always
Unity & Peace