DO NOT LOSE HEART!

There are so many evil, bizarre things happening in our world that some reading this article are staggering in their faith. The cold wind of iniquity is trying to extinguish the faith of all of us. Jesus prophesied that this time would come: “And because lawlessness [sin] will abound, the love of many will grow cold” (Matthew 24:12 NKJV). In the very next verse He said that those who would stand fast in their faith would be okay. Take heart! This word is for you!

Isaiah 7:1-9 is a powerful word of understanding and encouragement for many who read this blog. Here’s the story in a nutshell.

Ahaz was the king of Judah (also known as the house of David), whose capital city was Jerusalem. The Jewish nation was divided into two kingdoms at that time; Judah was the southern kingdom and Israel (also known as Ephraim) was the northern kingdom. Judah had been attacked separately by Israel and Syria (Aram) and was barely able to fight off these attacks—but then came the bad news. The king of Judah, Ahaz, received word that these two enemy nations had formed an alliance and jointly they would attack Judah.

When Ahaz was informed of this new alliance and their war plan, verse 2 says, “So the hearts of Ahaz and his people were shaken, as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind.” Ahaz and his leaders were staggered at the thought of these two nations joining forces, and the military might and destruction that would be unleashed on them. Their world had been shaken and they were overcome with fear!

During the period of several centuries following the death of Solomon, the Jewish nation was in a dark and evil time. The nation separated into two kingdoms and for the most part both kingdoms were in open disobedience to God. God faithfully sent prophets to the rulers and the people of both kingdoms to call them back to Him, to call them to repentance. At times the southern kingdom responded to God’s call, but then would return to pagan debauchery. The northern kingdom never once heeded the message of the prophets and became increasingly evil.

Once again, in faithfulness, as Judah was struck with the terrifying news of the impending attack, God spoke to one of the prophets, Isaiah, and told him to go and meet with Ahaz. God gave Isaiah a strong and clear word for the king and the people. Here is the essence of the word of the Lord for Ahaz—and it is for us, as well.

Verse 4: “Be careful, keep calm and don’t be afraid. Do not lose heart because of these two” (NIV).

• Be careful—Don’t let fear or fearful circumstances cause you to make rash and foolish decisions (Proverbs 19:2 NIV).

• Keep calm—Don’t panic when you hear of tumultuous things happening. God is still in charge (Psalm 29:10-11 NIV).


• Don’t be afraid—Fear paralyzes us and instead of doing the right things, we do nothing or we do foolish things; don’t give in to the spirit of fear (2 Timothy 1:7 NIV).

• Don’t lose heart—Don’t give up, don’t quit, no matter how difficult it looks. Don’t become fainthearted, weak or timid. Don’t lose your heart to follow and trust God. Proverbs says we are to “guard our heart” (Proverbs 4:23 NIV). The heart is where victory is established and quitting is birthed!

Verse 7 - The prophet thunders to the terrified leaders of Judah: “The Sovereign Lord says: It will not take place, it will not happen” (NIV). And, indeed, no attack took place. Ahaz and the leaders had responded in fear to the threat of an attack.

One of the primary weapons of “the terrorist of all times, the father of terrorism” is to try to build fear in the hearts of those he is attempting to victimize through threats and allusions. 1 John 4:18 teaches us that fear has torment—it is a form of terrorism!

I heard it said years ago that “fear is the down payment on 90 percent of things that never happen.” If we embrace the lies/threats of “the terrorist,” we will be weakened, our faith will lose its vitality, and we will be overcome.

Verse 9 - Isaiah finishes this word with this very potent statement that reaches across the centuries to where we are today. “If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all” (Isaiah 7:9b NIV).

This is not the time to be putting your faith in anything but in Him. Faith in the church is not going to cut it; having faith in people is dangerous; having faith in pet doctrines about faith is dangerous. Our world is being shaken! Things we thought never would happen, are! People that we thought were trustworthy, aren’t. And because of all this, some are giving up; they have lost heart!

God’s word to us is, “Don’t lose heart, stand firm in your faith!” We are to love Him! We are to trust Him! God alone is our salvation!

“You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock eternal” (Isaiah 26:3-4 NIV).

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