Isaiah 51 Devotional

Comfort Larger Than Fear

““I, even I, am He who comforts you. Why should you be afraid of mortal man, of a son of man who withers like grass?”Isaiah 51:12 (BSB)

God speaks to those who are seeking him, and his first word points backward. They should look to Abraham and Sarah, the rock they were cut from. Abraham was one man when God called him, and God blessed him and made him many (51:1-2). That same God can turn Zion's ruins into a garden like Eden (51:3). The heavens will vanish like smoke, but his salvation will last forever (51:6).

Then he addresses fear directly. He is the one who comforts them, so why should they be afraid of mortals who wither like grass (51:12)? They have forgotten their Maker, and so they live in constant dread of the oppressor (51:13). At the end of the chapter he takes the cup of his anger out of Jerusalem's hand for good (51:22). Jesus told his followers not to fear those who can only kill the body, but to fear God (Matthew 10:28). Fear of people shrinks when the Maker of heaven comes back into view.

To think about: Whose opinion or power do you fear most right now, and how does remembering your Maker put that fear in its place?