Read: Isaiah 41:8-20 (see bottom)
Throughout the Bible, God encourages us not to be afraid or anxious, because as His children, we have no basis for fear.
Of course, there are reasons to be cautious about what we do and where we go, but living in a state of anxiety is uncalled-for.
We all have different fears—such as fear of criticism, illness, death, and poverty. These are universal worries, but they’re symptoms of something deep inside that feeds our concerns. Some of the root causes are:
A basic sense of inadequacy. We might feel incompetent to tackle some challenges or tasks.
The tendency to set unrealistic standards for ourselves. We can go through life trying to measure up to expectations that are self-imposed rather than ones set by God.
An innate sense of unworthiness. We might feel we don’t deserve God’s goodness.
In the midst of our fears and anxieties, we need to remember God’s promise from Isaiah 41:10
“Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand”.
It’s important that we look to Him and not at our circumstances.
By Dr. Charles Stanley
Used by Permission
Isaiah 41:8-20 New International Version (NIV)
8 “But you, Israel, my servant,
Jacob, whom I have chosen,
you descendants of Abraham my friend,
9 I took you from the ends of the earth,
from its farthest corners I called you.
I said, ‘You are my servant’;
I have chosen you and have not rejected you.
10 So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
11 “All who rage against you
will surely be ashamed and disgraced;
those who oppose you
will be as nothing and perish.
12 Though you search for your enemies,
you will not find them.
Those who wage war against you
will be as nothing at all.
13 For I am the Lord your God
who takes hold of your right hand
and says to you, Do not fear;
I will help you.
14 Do not be afraid, you worm Jacob,
little Israel, do not fear,
for I myself will help you,” declares the Lord,
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
15 “See, I will make you into a threshing sledge,
new and sharp, with many teeth.
You will thresh the mountains and crush them,
and reduce the hills to chaff.
16 You will winnow them, the wind will pick them up,
and a gale will blow them away.
But you will rejoice in the Lord
and glory in the Holy One of Israel.
17 “The poor and needy search for water,
but there is none;
their tongues are parched with thirst.
But I the Lord will answer them;
I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
18 I will make rivers flow on barren heights,
and springs within the valleys.
I will turn the desert into pools of water,
and the parched ground into springs.
19 I will put in the desert
the cedar and the acacia, the myrtle and the olive.
I will set junipers in the wasteland,
the fir and the cypress together,
20 so that people may see and know,
may consider and understand,
that the hand of the Lord has done this,
that the Holy One of Israel has created it.
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