Week 23
Isaiah 8:12-13 “You are not to fear what they fear or be in dread of it. It is the Lord of hosts whom you should regard as holy. And He shall be your fear, and He shall be your dread.”
What a person fears says a great deal about the person. What we fear, and what we don’t fear, says much about who we are, especially as it pertains to our convictions and faith.
Isaiah is preaching to a people who feared the wrong things, and they disregarded Him whom they should fear.
The Bible teaches us to fear God and to demonstrate that fear in worship and in obedience. And if we fear God, and we trust in God’s great sovereignty and providential authority, then we have nothing else to fear. If we fear people, if we fear situations, if we fear the things of this earth, then this demonstrates that we do not have a healthy fear of God. But if we fear God, and we know that God is over all things – that His omnipotence and greatness supervises all things, then we will have nothing more to fear.
Jesus meant this as He stood before Pilate. Pilate sensed that Jesus did not fear him, and this confused the politician. Pilate thought of himself as having power and authority. But Jesus said that Pilate would have no power and authority were it not given to him by heaven itself. In other words, Pilate was under God’s power and authority; Pilate had no innate authority in himself at all. Jesus knew that He was standing before Pilate and soon would taste death on the cross because it was His Father’s will for Him to do so. Thus, He prayed, “Not My will but Your will be done.” Then Jesus committed Himself into the hands of His heavenly Father. Jesus knew that human events were under the control of the sovereign God of the universe. Jesus appealed to the Father and left the matter there.
If we fear God, and if we honor God, then we have nothing more to fear. Jesus said that we should not fear those who could only kill the body; rather, we should fear God who can destroy both body and soul in hell.
Let us pray to God, let us fear God, and let us submit to God. As we face life’s trials and hardships, let us pour out our hearts to God in prayer and in submission to His will. His sovereign hand governs and guides the happenings of our lives.
Prayer: Dear Lord, please take from my heart the fear that I have when people hurt me and attack me. Please take away the fear from my heart when life seems to turn against me. Help me, rather, to fear You and trust in Your goodness and sovereign power in my life. Amen.
