Trust without Fear

Picture two climbers roped together on a steep slope in bad weather. Each one's safety depends on who is holding the other end of the rope.

Two kinds of people read this verse, and it does different work in each of them. The first has been afraid for so long that she no longer notices it. Fear shows up while she is brushing her teeth, and it has planned three versions of next month before she realizes it is there. The second is not afraid at all and has not been for years. He would tell you that is faith, but it is closer to not having needed anything lately.

Isaiah is writing for the first one. Look at where this song sits. Chapter 12 comes after eleven chapters full of warning about Assyria, invasion, an emptied land and a small group left behind. So it is not a song sung before the hard thing comes. The singer has come through the trouble, and verse 1 says so plainly: "though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me." This is a song from the far side.

The words in verse 2 are a decision: "I will trust, and not be afraid." Choosing to trust is what a person does while fear is still in the room and every reason for it is still there. Then he gives the reason he can: "for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song." He is still on the rope, but his trust is in the One holding the other end.

Lord, we are not all in the same place. Some of us have been afraid for so long that we have stopped naming it. Some of us have simply not needed You lately, and we have mistaken that for strength. Make the second group honest and the first group brave. Do not let either of us confuse a quiet week with faith. We will trust You, even while we are still afraid, because both of those are in this verse, and You are holding the rope. Amen.

Daily Manna runs on a two-year cycle. The year two reading for day 108 is At Thy Word (Luke 5:5).

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