Firm in Faith

When the house of David was told, “Syria is in league with Ephriam,” the heart of Ahaz and the heart of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind.”
Isaiah 7:2, ESV

Ahaz, King of Judah, and his people stand on the brink of war. Their hands shake. Their food is heavy in their stomachs. They watch their children play with heavy hearts, wondering what tomorrow will bring.

God calls the prophet Isaiah to meet King Ahaz and give him this message:

And say to him, “Be careful, be quiet, do not fear, and to not let your heart be faint because of these two smoldering stumps of firebrands…”
Isaiah 7:4

God pronounces judgement on Syria and Ephraim, He declares His protection over Judah, and ends with this statement:

If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all.
Isaiah 7:9b, ESV

The chapter seems to indicate that afterwards Ahaz and the people still tremble in fear of the possibility of war. That God’s promise of protection isn’t enough. God tells Ahaz to ask for any sign he wishes and God will grant it. Ahaz, taken aback, says he will not test God by asking for a sign that God will keep His promises.

God chooses to grant a sign anyway: the sign of Immanuel.

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
Isaiah 7:14, ESV

I have spent so many years of my life feeling like we are constantly on the brink of war. I know this is a deeply personal fear of mine, but I also know other’s share it, at least, if social media and news headlines are any indicator. Sometimes the warning of Matthew 24, so often repeated from the pulpit of my childhood, skips like a broken record in my head. Wars and rumors of wars. Wars and rumors of wars. Wars and rumors of wars that must take place.

But the sign God promised to Ahaz is a sign that spreads its wings of protection over us still today. The sign of Immanuel, Jesus the Christ, son of God and son of man, who made peace between us and God the Father through the sacrifice of His blood. Who destroyed the power of death with His resurrection, so that we can live a life without fear. Jesus said:

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.
John 16:33, ESV

This is where my true confidence should lie. Faith that the God who sent Immanuel will keep his promises to me. That no war, no earthquake, or any other tribulation of this lifetime can separate me from the protection of His love. That He has rescued me for Himself and will keep me for Himself because He has chosen me for adoption into His family. So that, even should the worst come, I am sheltered by the loving hand of a kind, sovereign God. His promises are my hope.

And unless I stand firm in faith on His promises, I will not stand at all.