True Comfort
November 7, 2008

“I, even I, am he who comforts you. Who are you that you are afraid of man who dies, and of the son of man who is made like grass; that you have forgotten the Lord your Maker, who stretched out the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth; that you fear continually all day long because of the fury of the oppressor, as he makes ready to destroy? But where is the fury of the oppressor?”- Isaiah 51:12-13

These are times of upheaval. Natural disasters, political friction, bloody wars, and economic chaos are the subject of every newspaper headline. It is enough to tie your stomach in knots, and to make you stare into the darkness at night … exhausted, but too tense to sleep.

But through the prophet Isaiah, God calls us to a higher standard: “Why are you afraid of people? Why are you sleepless about the economy? Why are you terrified about what is happening in the national and international political scene? Have you forgotten? I am the sovereign Lord of the Universe and there is nothing – nothing – that is outside my control. I have sworn that all things will work out for good if you love me. Why are you afraid?”

You can almost hear him snap divine fingers dismissively: “Where is the fury of the oppressor? The worst that people – the worst that the world – can throw at you is nothing compared to my strength and my power. Remember this: and be comforted!”

• What are you afraid of? Why?
• What does fear do to you? What does it do to your relationship with God?
  
• What is your view of God? What word-picture can you use to describe his sovereignty?
• What difference would it make to your fears if you could truly grasp the sovereignty of God?