“God hears our prayers and leads us to high places where He can easily defend us, and then provides for our every need. In what, or whom, should we fear? We should fear nothing and No one, for God is with us.”
This morning I am contemplating Isaiah 33 and specifically verse 16. In this chapter God's people are under attack and are praying for help. In our verse this morning they are reaffirming God's provision and defense.
“He shall dwell on high: his place of defense shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure.”
- Isaiah 33:16 KJV
Are you under attack in some way? How are you handling it, and are you confident in God's provision and defense? In this morning's verse God has taken his people to a defendable place, high ground, and in this place provides them with His protection and feeds and waters them. Here we read as God's people are reaffirming His efforts on their behalf and expressing their confidence in Him.
As you come under attack in your life, are you equally confident in God's ability to protect and keep you? Sometimes we read the promises of His provision in scripture, and instead of being convinced of His being able to protect us, we continue to fret, worry, and give into fear. Do you begin each hardship by asking the Lord for help and then trust that it will come, or are you inclined to doubt and wonder aloud... "where God is?"
Our approach to every trial in our lives should begin with prayer. If we replace fear as our starting point to the crisis which confront us with faith and prayer, then we will find rest in the peace of God, and He will protect and keep us. Later, in Isaiah 41, God reassures us of this in a wonderful verse..
“Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”
- Isaiah 41:10 KJV
One of the last things that God wants us to do is live in fear! There are many verses in the Bible regarding this, but I would like to share a couple from Psalms this morning...
“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”
- Psalms 27:1 ESV
And...
“When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul.”
- Psalms 94:19 ESV
Where is our faith in times of trouble? Is it in our own ability, or in the boundless power of God? It is so easy to trust in the things we can see, but trusting in those things unseen takes great faith, and yet, that is where our greatest power comes from.
“as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”
2 Corinthians 4:18 ESV
Pray, pray, and then pray some more. This is how we live in a world filled with danger and adversity. We are not alone, unless of course we chose to be! God hears our prayers and leads us to high places where He can easily defend us, and then provides for our every need. In what, or whom, should we fear? We should fear nothing and No one, for God is with us.
Father, I thank you for a life free from fear. You are my protector and provider; in You I want for nothing, and find peace. Lord, strengthen my faith in You. With each hardship You see me through and each enemy You defeat, teach me to trust in You more! Dear God, I hold to your promise of love and from that very love, I see your sheltering hand as it goes before me against all adversity. Great is your name Lord, and greatly to be praised; Your love for me is above all understanding.
“Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable.”
- Psalms 145:3 ESV