Isaiah 7:1-25

Fear can be a powerful emotion that either empowers us to be able to accomplish more than we ever dreamed or cripples us so that we can be easily overcome by that which threatens us.  There are circumstances in life that can promote fear but we must learn to respond to those circumstances with faith in the goodness and the ability of God to deliver us as He sees fit.  No matter how difficult things may become, we must always remember that God is in control and will ultimately determine to outcome of our situation.  When we are tempted to trust in our own strength or on some outside source to deliver us we must turn to the Lord and place our trust solely upon Him.

GOD GIVES ASSURANCE IN THE PLACE OF FEAR: Isaiah is sent to king Ahaz in a time of great fear and danger.  The Syrian army and Israel had united to come and overthrow Ahaz and the people of Judah.  The odds were against Judah as there was no human way that his army could stand against this powerful alliance.  Defeat was certain and his heart was filled with fear.  However, the rise and fall of nations is not determined by the will of powerful nations but by the will of a sovereign God.  Isaiah assures Ahaz that the armies of Syria and Israel will not be successful in their attack but that Judah would be delivered by the Lord.  Ahaz in not a godly king and cannot understand this kind of promise.  When God offers for Ahaz to request a sign, he refuses as a sort of affront to God and a demonstration of his unbelief.  God takes advantage of the situation and gives a supernatural sign of his own that applied immediately to the current situation but also is a famous prophecy concerning the virgin birth of Christ.  God is in control and we can trust Him and must submit to Him in our times of difficulty.

GOD GIVES WARNING IN TIME OF FALSE FAITH: Isaiah is not only full of good news.  He also has some very sobering news for the nation of Judah.  Ahaz had hoped that Assyria and Egypt might align with him and defeat the Syrian and Israeli threat.  The reality is that those in whom Ahaz was placing his trust would be his eventual demise.  It is a very dangerous thing to put our faith in that which is not faithful or worthy of our trust.  God alone must occupy that place in our lives.  Judah will be made desolate by the attack of the very nations to whom they were looking for deliverance.  We are often tempted to trust in the size of our bank account, the stability of our job, our health and even in our own family members.  None of these are secure anchors on whom we can deposit our faith.  On the contrary, when we trust these things in place of the Lord we will usually find ourselves disappointed and full of regret.  It is vital that we trust God and God alone in our times of trial.