I AM…HE!
I’d like to share some encouragement from Isaiah 51. At this time, the Israelites were under threat from the powerful Assyrian empire in the north. God speaks through Isaiah to reassure his people: “I, I am he who comforts you; who are you that you are afraid…?” (Isaiah 51:12a).
“I, I am he”
Firstly, God makes his identity clear. When he revealed himself to Moses as a burning bush (Exodus 3:14), he said his name was “I AM” [Yahweh]. Now, when God repeats this statement in Isaiah, he is reminding the Israelites of who he is: the great and powerful “I AM” who parted the Red Sea, delivered them from the Egyptians, led them and provided for them for 40 years in the desert, and finally gave them the Promised Land as their inheritance. He is their mighty God, their protector and Lord.
“who comforts you”
God is a God of comfort (2 Corinthians 1:3). The Israelites were his chosen people – he had promised never to leave them nor to forsake them (Joshua 1:5). He reminds the Israelites that he is a loving God, their comforter, whose steadfast love endures forever (Psalm 136).
“who are you that you are afraid?”
Here’s where we come to the crunch. God has already proven to the Israelites time and time again that he is a faithful, powerful God who loves them. He had transformed them from a band of escaped slaves into a mighty nation. Yet, they are still afraid of the Assyrians! They have God, the great I AM, as their protector and comforter, but they are still scared of their human enemies! God is accusing them of pride. He asks them: “Who are you to be afraid? I have already proven that I am powerful, and that I love you. Why do you dare to doubt my power and my love?”
When we fear, it is a big sign of disrespect to God. He has said to us: “I have loved you with an everlasting love.” (Jeremiah 3:13). He is the big, huge, gigantic Creator of the Universe, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. When we are afraid, we are basically telling God, “I don’t believe you can help me. I don’t believe you love me enough to bring me out of this. I think this problem is too big for you to handle.” And when we say this, we disrespect the awesome power of God, and we ignore the amazing fact of his love for us in Christ.
It is normal for humans to be afraid. Even Jesus was distressed and troubled before he was arrested to be crucified (Mark 14:33). I’m not saying that we absolutely cannot be scared of anything at all. That would be totally unrealistic. But what I’m saying is, when we face situations which make us scared, worried or anxious, we should not give way to fear. We should not allow that fear to make us weak, defeated and helpless. Instead, let us look to God, and remind ourselves of his great power, and of his mighty love.
JW
Big God In Small People!
He started off as a shepherd boy where his life was insignificance and no one could give a second thought of him. But from fighting against the lions and the bears, he became a warrior and started to fight with Goliaths, the Philistine. If that was not amaze enough, from being a little shepherd boy, he was chosen and anointed to be the king of Israel. I think, never in David’s wildest dreams that this was possible and how his life had changed tremendously. One may think how this is possible: What does a shepherd boy knows about leading a country with a good wealth of people and leading them to fighting in the battles? Even King Saul doubted: “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth” (1 Samuel 17:33). And Saul was right indeed. David was just a young man who knew nothing about wars. Yet, this once again proven to us that with God, all things are made possible. How true is the verse where Jesus said “Apart from me, you can do nothing” Even before David was born, God already purposed for him to be king and hence had been preparing him for this great purpose through the tending of the sheep (1 Samuel 17:34-37).
God Helps Us Be Faithful To The End
Joshua House youths at 3rd KidzPraise (1 Jul 2012)
Once again…great job people! Thanks to:
Audris, Deanna, Bryan, Eunice, Kelvin, Calvin, Josh Lim, Kelwen, Huei Ping, Cordi, Val & Kim Beng.
jL
Joshua House 