Do Not Fear...

Passage: Isaiah 8:11-18

When I was a kid I would regularly try to stall the going-to-bed process. I’d stay up as long as I could. Even after I’d been put to bed I’d get back up. Tell my parents I needed a drink of water. Tell them I had to go to the bathroom. Tell them anything to buy a few more minutes of awake time. My most common excuse was this: “I’m scared!” Once in awhile one or the other of my parents would get fed up and say, “Go back to bed or I’ll give you something to be afraid of!” I’d scoot back to bed. Of course what they meant – in so many words – was, “You have nothing to be afraid of. I’m here. Go back to bed!”

One of the things that characterizes the Book of Isaiah is good news wrapped up in bad news. Isaiah repeatedly tells his people that they will suffer God’s judgment. In the next breath Isaiah speaks tenderly of God’s promised salvation. In chapter 8 Isaiah says this:
Do not call conspiracy everything that these people call conspiracy; do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it. The LORD Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear…
Isaiah is addressing a nation consumed with fear. They’re afraid of economic recession; they’re afraid of famine and disease; they’re terrified of the invading armies of their more powerful neighbors. Isaiah’s message is, “There’s only one thing you need to fear: God!” The paradox is this: if they feared God, they wouldn’t have to be afraid of anything else.

In these fearful times, Isaiah’s words are more relevant than ever. We are bombarded with news of conspiracy and calamity. The intent, it seems, of every commentator and every news source is to fill us with fear. We are well served to listen to the prophet: "Do not call conspiracy everything that these people call conspiracy; do not fear what they fear. The LORD Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear."
If you fear God, you have nothing to be afraid of.