Devotion: Isaiah 35:4

Isaiah 35:4 …say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.”

Sometimes we read Scripture and think there’s no way it can be applied to our lives., especially when it is about prophesies in the Old Testament. But all Scripture is from God and therefore useful in teaching us new things (2 Timothy 3:16). The questions then are how do we interpret things written to a people that lived hundreds of years before Jesus was born and how do we apply those words in our own life.

The prophet Isaiah prophesied to the Israelites living in Judah sometime between 745 BC to 685 BC. His prophecies were done the same as most prophets – warnings of what is to come with a message of repentance. Basically he was telling the Israelites to turn from their sinful ways, repent, and avoid the hardships God said were coming. They didn’t listen though and later these prophesies came to pass.

But Isaiah didn’t speak of only doom and gloom but also prophesied hope. We see it in today’s verse. The prophesies foretell of exile for Judah (70 years they lived amongst pagan worshipping Babylonians). But Isaiah tells them not to fear and to be strong because He would save them. We see this encouragement in chapter 35. Isaiah encouraged them to strengthen weak hands and make feeble feet firm, which is echoed in Hebrews 12:12. The anxious were told to be strong and not fear because God would save them.

So there you have a quick overview that gives a bit more explanation and hopefully provides some new insights. But what about application in our own lives?

Just like the Israelites in Isaiah’s time, we are sinning. We are not living lives holy and pure. We may be attempting to live like Christ, but the reality is that we all fall short (Romans 3:23). We are deserving of “exile.” Thank God that is not likely for us. But no matter what you think, we all have sinned and continue to sin and should repent and be renewed. And we should have hope because God is with us. He has a plan for our lives (Jeremiah 29:11) so have hope! Do not fear, but stand strong because you have the Holy Spirit in you and our God will come with vengeance to save you.
Stand strong, friends, and do not fear.

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