ESOCS Devotional 29 January 2025 – Fear Not – Five Promises
MEMORY VERSE: “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10
TEXT: ISAIAH 41:1–16
“Keep silence before Me, O coastlands,
And let the people renew their strength!
Let them come near, then let them speak;
Let us come near together for judgment.
2 “Who raised up one from the east?
Who in righteousness called him to His feet?
Who gave the nations before him,
And made him rule over kings?
Who gave them as the dust to his sword,
As driven stubble to his bow?
3 Who pursued them, and passed safely
By the way that he had not gone with his feet?
4 Who has performed and done it,
Calling the generations from the beginning?
‘I, the Lord, am the first;
And with the last I am He.’ ”
5 The coastlands saw it and feared,
The ends of the earth were afraid;
They drew near and came.
6 Everyone helped his neighbor,
And said to his brother,
“Be of good courage!”
7 So the craftsman encouraged the goldsmith;
He who smooths with the hammer inspired him who strikes the anvil,
Saying, “It is ready for the soldering”;
Then he fastened it with pegs,
That it might not totter.
8 “But you, Israel, are My servant,
Jacob whom I have chosen,
The descendants of Abraham My friend.
9 You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth,
And called from its farthest regions,
And said to you,
‘You are My servant,
I have chosen you and have not cast you away:
10 Fear not, for I am with you;
Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you,
Yes, I will help you,
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’
11 “Behold, all those who were incensed against you
Shall be ashamed and disgraced;
They shall be as nothing,
And those who strive with you shall perish.
12 You shall seek them and not find them—
[e]Those who contended with you.
Those who war against you
Shall be as nothing,
As a nonexistent thing.
13 For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand,
Saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you.’
14 “Fear not, you worm Jacob,
You men of Israel!
I will help you,” says the Lord
And your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
15 “Behold, I will make you into a new threshing sledge with sharp teeth;
You shall thresh the mountains and beat them small,
And make the hills like chaff.
16 You shall winnow them, the wind shall carry them away,
And the whirlwind shall scatter them;
You shall rejoice in the Lord,
And glory in the Holy One of Israel.
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These are words which inspire confidence and faith in the mighty God whom we serve. They are promises, which will equip us for any battle or difficult storm. These promises were first delivered to God’s people, Israel, and now we too are the beneficiaries of these promises. This is because, through the glorious work of Christ, we are “no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God” (Ephesians 2:19). We need these promises because we can become fearful of things happening around us, we could be fearful of things, which are yet to happen, but these promises from God will give us the confidence to overcome any fear.
I am with you: The first promise is about God’s presence – “Do not fear, for I am with you.” There are several verses in the Bible that remind us that God has promised to be with us. Jesus said, “…for I am with you until the end of the age.” He also said, “I will not leave you as orphans, but I will come to you.” Paul wrote, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” In Hebrews, we read, “He will never leave you nor forsake you.” We are never alone because God is always with us.
I am your God: God relates to His people in a most special way. In verses 8-9 of Isaiah 41, we read that God calls His people, His servants, His chosen ones, and that He has called them from the furthest parts of the earth. This applies first to Israel, whom God called out of the other nations. But it also applies to us as believers in Christ – “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ” (Ephesians 2:13). Because He is our God, we should keep our eyes fixed on Him.
I will strengthen you: The word here strengthen basically means to be courageous. When God strengthens us, He makes us courageous. In other words, He gives us the strength to face up to the battles we will face. For example, the apostles of the Lord. They were very courageous in the face of much hostility from the religious authorities. God made them courageous through His Spirit.
I will help you: God doesn’t just make us courageous, send us in for a battle with everything we need, and then just watch us. He is with us, and He provides us with His divine help. God helps us at our point of need. When we need His help, He will be there. We need His strength to face up to the battle.
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand: Unfortunately, many people think that God either does not exist (atheists) or that if He does exist, we wouldn’t be able to know (agnostics). But the truth that God has revealed to us in His word is that He is both independent of the creation (He is self-existing and does not depend on the creation). But is He also within it (at work in the world and part of our lives). Left to ourselves, we would easily fall. It is God who personally upholds us.
CHALLENGES
- God is with you everywhere. Feel safe like a child in the arms of the mother.
PRAYER POINT
- Lord Jesus, uphold me with your righteousness. Amen.
FURTHER READING: Isaiah 41:17-end; Matthew 20:17-end; 21:1-22
ESOCS Devotional 28 January 2025
