Fear Not

Isaiah 43:1b

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are Mine.”

This passage was written for Israel as a source of comfort, but since we are children of God according to John 1:12, we are going to include ourselves in this exhortation.

This small section of verse contains four key elements:

1. Fear Not: the Bible records a lot of phrases that tell us not to fear. The first one was to Abraham in Genesis 15:1, where He told Abraham, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.” Let’s take that promise as children of God, into the new year with us. Don’t be afraid of new things, like God was telling Abram, He is there during those new things that are coming. God is there to protect us (our shield), and He is our VERY great reward. I believe, since God is our shield and He promises to be our very great reward, in this new year, we do not need to be afraid of what is to come. As a matter of fact, expect great things.

2. I have redeemed you: We have been bought with the price of God’s own Son and the blood that He shed at Calvary. Now we are in a right relationship with God. It is an honor to be thought worthy enough that God sent His own Son to be the sacrificial lamb for us to pay our debt.

3. I have called you by name: God knows who you and I are personally. He is not just knowing us collectively as Christians, He enters every heart and life that confesses Him. Jesus said in John 10:3b “The sheep hear his voice, and He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.” We are known individually and collectively, it’s personal, we are personally known by God.

4. You are Mine: Read that over a few times and let it sink in. God is our shield, so there is nothing to fear. We are redeemed, set apart for God. We are in right relationship to God and He has a very special name that describes who we are. Now God says to each of us, You are mine. I like the sound of that; “You are Mine.” I can sense His presence and His favor in those three small words.

Prayer:

Father God, because You have redeemed me, bought me back, and I am Yours, there is no need for me to fear the past or the future. This morning, I find immense comfort knowing I am Yours. Thank You Father, Amen!