When Everything Changed: God Brings Salvation in Fear


What are you afraid of?  Each of us has our own set of fears!  The scriptures talk about fear often.  One of those times involved a prophecy about the Messiah.

In Isaiah 7, King Ahaz and all his officials are terrified!  Two nations were marching against them, and they were more than capable of destroying them.

In that time, a message for Ahaz came to the prophet Isaiah.  The message was that he wasn't to be afraid.  God was going to deal with the nations marching against him.

Isaiah said God wanted Ahaz to name a sign that his words were true.  When Ahaz refused, the prophet said the Lord would choose a sign himself.  A young woman would become pregnant and bear a son.  She would name the son Immanuel, which means "God with us."  Before that son grew to know right from wrong, the kings and nations Ahaz feared would be only a memory!

Centuries later, Matthew 1 records that a young man was upset and fearful.  His name was Joseph.  He was betrothed to a young woman named Mary and she had turned up pregnant.  He had decided to divorce her quietly when an angel appeared to him in a dream.  The angel told him not to be afraid to marry Mary because the child she was carrying came from God.  He was to name him Jesus, which means "God is salvation," because he would save his people from their sins.

Led by the Holy Spirit, Matthew cited the Isaiah passage.  He said that Jesus' birth fulfilled Isaiah's prophecy.  Jesus would be Immanuel, God with us, in a way greater than anyone could imagine.

The Christmas story tells us that God came to be with us in the person of Jesus, to save us from our sins.  When we put our faith in him, we become right with God.  The Holy Spirit enters and transforms us.  That being true, we shouldn't fear anything in life or death.

Rest in God, and find his security in your fears!

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