Isaiah 36:4-5 "And Rabshakeh said unto them, Say ye now to Hezekiah, Thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria, What confidence is this wherein thou trustest? (5) I say, sayest thou, (but they are but vain words) I have counsel and strength for war: now on whom dost thou trust, that thou rebellest against me?"
It seems that Satan has certain tools in his pocket that he pulls out more than
others. Fear is one of them. We are robbed of many blessings when we allow fear
to control our lives. I believe this is why the Holy Spirit included the words,
"Fear not," so many times in the Bible. In this wonderful season of
the year, we are reminded of those two words quite often. We read when the
angel appeared to the father of John the Baptist, "Fear not, Zacharias."
When the angel appeared to Mary, He said, "Fear not, Mary." He
also spoke to Joseph, "... fear not to take unto thee Mary thy
wife..." And then to the shepherds in the field, "... Fear not:
for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all
people." Jesus, Himself, spoke those two words quite often.
Satan has another tool and it is something that leads to fear. That tool is
doubt. This is the approach that the king of Assyria used against Judah.
He is very subtle in his approach, "What confidence is this wherein thou
trusteth?" Just how confident are you in the power the One Hezekiah
has led you to trust? He is actually saying, "Do you think your God, that
you cannot even see, is greater than all of this army that is before you?
Hezekiah tells you, "I have counsel and strength for war." But
who is it that you are trusting? Yes, He tries to cause us to question our
faith which leads to doubt which leads to fear which leads to doing things that
we would not otherwise do. This is the very reason that we must stay in the
Word of God. We must understand the power that has been exhibited by our Lord
from the very beginning of time. He spoke this universe into existence. If we
doubt the first chapter of the Bible, we will doubt the entire Bible, for the
power of God has not diminished since He spoke the words, "Let there be
light." Let us maintain our confidence in His wisdom, power, and
ability to perform.
Time is filled with swift transition,
Naught of earth unmoved can stand,
Build your hopes on things eternal,
Hold to God's unchanging hand.