Standing Faith Cannot Be Forced

Isaiah 7:1-9 gives an account of King Ahaz of Judah at a time when his kingdom was about to be invaded and conquered by two other kings. The story opens with the names of all the kings involved but adds "However, they were unable to carry out their plan." The plot is then revealed as to why the plan never succeeded:

"The news had come to the royal court of Judah: “Syria is allied with Israel against us!” So the hearts of the king and his people trembled with fear, like trees shaking in a storm.

Then the Lord said to Isaiah, “Take your son Shear-jashuband go out to meet King Ahaz. 

You will find him at the end of the aqueduct that feeds water into the upper pool, near the road leading to the field where cloth is washed."

We can all relate to bad news. No one is immune from it. It is news we were not expecting or anticipating.  It catches us off guard. And like King Ahaz “...the hearts of the king and his people trembled with fear”.  

Fear can either motivate us to action or paralyze us. 

It can blind us to truth so that we only focus on the circumstance. 

Our fear can infect others around. The people were looking to their King for direction and he was literally trembling in his boots!!

I LOVE that God knew exactly where Ahaz was!

• Aqueducts were not only a source of water for a city but also could be the place of compromise thereby allowing the enemy access to a walled and gated city.
• Perhaps Ahaz recognized this was the very place that needed fortified due to disrepair, or decay, or possibly neglect...which would only increase his level of fear. They just didn’t have time.
• Can you not see him pacing like a caged animal trying to bark out orders all the while failing in the composure department in front of his people?

I LOVE that God met him at his place of fear!

When we get a bad report are we so trembling with fear that we don’t see, or can’t see God meeting us in the place of our fear?

Our fear and trembling do NOT scare God away! He will meet us in the midst of our fear if we silence the voices around us and surrender our control to Him.

"Tell him to stop worrying. Tell him he doesn’t need to fear the fierce anger of those two burned-out embers, King Rezin of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah. Yes, the kings of Syria and Israel are plotting against him, saying, ‘We will attack Judah and capture it for ourselves. Then we will install the son of Tabeel as Judah’s king.’ But this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“This invasion will never happen;

it will never take place....

As for Israel, within sixty-five years

it will be crushed and completely destroyed...

Unless your faith is firm,

I cannot make you stand firm.”

“Tell him to stop worrying.” When fear encompasses our thoughts and actions, we can’t think straight and see clearly. God’s encouragement is always on time but we can miss it due to trying to plan our attack.
The Apostle Paul tells us in Philippians 4:6-9 to not worry...instead pray about everything; be thankful; then we will experience God's peace in our hearts and minds.

• Peace is the opposite of fear.
• Hope is the opposite of despair
• Prayer is the opposite of worry

"Tell him he doesn’t need to fear the fierce anger of those two burned-out embers." Yes they are plotting against him, saying….BUT THIS IS WHAT THE SOVEREIGN LORD SAYS: 

• Burned out embers = NO POWER! Stop holding onto that which no longer has power!

"The Lord frustrates the plans of the nations

and thwarts all their schemes. But the Lord’s plans stand firm forever;

his intentions can never be shaken." Psalm 33:10-11 

• No matter what the voices around us are saying, what is God saying?

“Unless your faith is firm, I cannot make you stand firm.”(NLT). Stand firm in some translations is "established". In the Hebrew this means "to support, uphold, be carried."

Standing faith will never be something that is taught or handed down but must be experienced. And this will only happen as we go through trials, hardships, and even times of seemingly silence from God. Standing firm in our faith gives us the confidence that God is supporting, upholding and carrying us through the difficult times in our life.

Faith...standing faith...is a choice.

Firm faith is a process.

Faith is foundational to our minds quiet, resting, and standing firm even in the midst of uncertainty.  In the midst of bad reports.

Hebrews 11:1 “Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.”

So where are you with fear, worry, or anxiety? To whom and in whom or what are you placing your confidence? Unless your faith is firm in Jesus Christ, God can not make your faith firm. Cannot make you believe, cannot support and carry you if you do not allow him to.