what are you afraid of--or who?

I don't know about you, but it feels like there is a lot to be anxious about these days...the Presidential election in the U.S., rumors of another cold war, the refugee crisis... Just so.many.things. Opening my Bible this morning, my prayer was "seriously Lord, please give me some kind of wisdom or insight, I know You don't want us to be anxious, but there's just a LOT happening in the world right now that is anxiety-producing." I don't know what you pray before reading the Scriptures, but I trust that God will always speak to me in one way or another. And today was no different.

My husband Jake and I are going through the Book of Isaiah these days. So, this morning I opened up to Isaiah 51 and found this truth to be oh-so-comforting:

12-16“I, I’m the One comforting you.

What are you afraid of—or who?

Some man or woman who’ll soon be dead?

Some poor wretch destined for dust?

You’ve forgotten me, God, who made you,

who unfurled the skies, who founded the earth.

And here you are, quaking like an aspen

before the tantrums of a tyrant

who thinks he can kick down the world.

But what will come of the tantrums?

The victims will be released before you know it.

They’re not going to die.

They’re not even going to go hungry.

For I am God, your very own God,

who stirs up the sea and whips up the waves,

named God-of-the-Angel-Armies.

I teach you how to talk, word by word,

and personally watch over you,

Even while I’m unfurling the skies,

setting earth on solid foundations,

and greeting Zion: ‘Welcome, my people!’”

I mean, You're right, Lord. What, or who, am I afraid of? Is it just me, or is it sometimes simply easy to forget that God sees EVERYTHING. We get just this little glimpse of what's going on in the world, but God sees it all. And more than that, God has a plan. God always has and always will. It's so easy for me to get caught up in what I can see, hear, watch, that I forget that it's the things I can't see that are far more real and tangible: God's plans, God's purposes, God's love, God's compassion, God's mercy, heaven...

Whether it's the upcoming election in the U.S. that's got us fretting these days or the multitude of crisis around the world, we can cling to the reality that God is bigger, always. God MADE this world and our Creator is not abandoning it anytime soon, or ever. So, who or what is there for us to be afraid of? Nothing. We can breathe easily. :)