9 . . . “You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off”; 10 fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. 11 Behold, all who are incensed against you shall be put to shame and confounded; those who strive against you shall be as nothing and shall perish. 12 You shall seek those who contend with you, but you shall not find them; those who war against you shall be as nothing at all. 13 For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you.” (Isaiah 41:9-13, ESV)
Do you ever feel like the whole world is against you? Do you fear? Are there people who have mistreated you? Do you often seek to avenge yourself or have thoughts to do so? The Lord addresses these issues here.
The context of this prophecy is likely the re-gathering of the nation of Israel from their deportation by Babylon. This seems to be indicated by verse eight and the beginning of verse nine, “But you Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham, my friend; you whom I took from the ends of the earth.” These words indicate that the Lord would re-gather His chosen people from the distant regions of their deportation and exact vengeance upon their adversaries. The Lord is the advocate of His chosen.
This principle of the Lord’s advocacy is a universal principle. He watches over all those whom He has chosen. As God had chosen Israel to be a consecrated people, he has also chosen us who have received salvation in Christ. Yes, God watches over every believer and offers to us His great and precious promises. We see many of these promises here.
Do you often feel abandoned? God says He has not cast you off.
Are you fearful or anxious? He says He is always with you to give you strength and help. Have people wronged you? He will bring them to shame and bring them to nothing.
How often is it that we try to take the place of God? What do I mean by this? When we feel abandoned, do we not try to do things to make ourselves noticed? When we are fearful, do we not act out in strange and unusual ways to cope? When people wrong us, do we not seek revenge and their ultimate humiliation? Do we not try to take things into our own hands rather than trust God?
Our response to the adverse situations of life would be much different if we really trusted the Lord our God. When we feel abandoned, we would seek to dwell in the closeness of His loving presence. When we are anxious and afraid, we would cast our cares on Him and trust Him confidently. When others wrong us, we would love our enemies, never avenging ourselves but rather leaving room for God to avenge us.
We ought to consider the many precious promises of God. We ought to stand on them. I remember the famous hymn, “Standing on the Promises.” Is this not the result of true faith? It is by faith that one will stand on the promises of God? Those of us who carry the title “Chosen of God” need to consider how we are wearing the title. Is it standing by faith or taking matters into our own hands?
Renewing the Heart 