Isaiah 43

The first few verses in this chapter of Isaiah inspired the hymn: "Be Not Afraid".

We sang these words in a packed church on 9/16/01, mere days after 9-11 shattered our complacent little world, and sent us all reeling with fear, anger and disbelief. Endless news footage of thick black smoke. Sirens. The search for missing loved ones in NY and DC hospitals. The eerie silence of a whole week with no air traffic. Most of us wondered: what next? Where, next? Maybe here in Boston?

Amidst fear and chaos, our Fitchburg congregation sought peace and comfort in these words:

"If you pass through raging waters, in the sea you shall not drown;
If you walk amidst the burning flames, you shall not be harmed.
If you stand before the power of hell, and death is at your side,
Know that I am with you, through it all.....
Be not afraid. I go before you, always.
Come, follow Me, and I will give you rest"

I love that song because it takes the promises made by the disciplinarian Father of the Old Testament one step further, and in the chorus, we are reminded of that Heavenly Father's Son: the forgiving, loving, nurturing Jesus of the New Testament.

I believe in God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I embrace reassuring promises. I like to feel good, peaceful, happy, comforted; I think I can safely say 99% of us want this.
But, then, along comes verse 22: "You have not called upon me, O Jacob". (I neglect the Word and I don't communicate with God the way I should)
Or verse 24: ".....but you have burdened me with your sins and wearied me with your offenses." (Every day I try, and every day I fail)

In my heart, I know that Christ's death and resurrection washes away sin. MY sin. But it is still "disconcerting" to read Isaiah, Jeremiah, even the words of Jesus in Matthew 24 & 25. Because in THOSE passages, we find that same disciplinarian God again. And He's talking about all that unpleasant stuff. Sin. Hell. Judgment for all that bad stuff that I like to simply sweep under the rug.

In Isaiah's day, the Israelites didn't have Jesus to fall back on, they could only look forward to the promise of Him.

Praise God for my parents, grandparents, relatives and friends who passed along their faith to me; a faith that is all I need to accept His gift, so freely given: Grace.


Submitted by Laura MacFeeley
***(please note: I tried to post on the church blog with my own log-in, but for some reason I don't have rights to add a "new posting", I can only "comment" on others' posts, so I had to log in tonight as "Bill". Jordan, is this something you need to set up?)