“Say ye not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, A confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid” (Isaiah 8:12).
TEXT — Isaiah 8:9-15
Message
A number of times when man is faced with challenges, he hardly decodes the workings of the finger of God to enthrone His good purpose. He is quick to trace his crisis to conspiracy theories, with the devil and his agents said to be calling the shots. This is not always so. God Himself could allow corrective, disciplinary chastisement when man exhibits contempt for His laws. He is capable of deploying nature (earthquake, storm, drought, etc.) or human institutions (governments, military, etc.) to achieve His goals.
This was what played out in the days of King Ahaz of Judah, some 740 years before the era of Christ. The monarch had been unfaithful to God. He put his trust in the Assyrian military, instead of the Lord. God said He would punish this faithlessness by using the Assyrians, not only to defeat Syria and Israel but also to overrun Judah. God warned Isaiah the prophet not to be swayed by the views of those who would conclude that there was a confederacy against Judah.
It is a mark of faithfulness and a lack of knowledge of the omnipotent power of God to fight our battle for us when, instead of trusting Him, we resort to seeking human help. God frowns at it when His children soon forget His promises in the face of human threats. This act of cowardice leads to compromise and eventual defeat.
True Christians ought to fear the Lord rather than so-called conspirators and confederates raised by the devil. If we walk faithfully with God and obey all His statutes uncompromisingly, no force on earth will upset us. They may discomfit others without the badge of Jesus Christ, but they will always flee from us.
Thought for the day
It does not matter how many or formidable our foes are if the Lord leads our battles.
Listed among “500 most powerful people on the planet” by the Foreign Policy magazine in 2013, Pastor (Dr.) William F. Kumuyi is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry (DCLM) headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria. DCLM started in 1973 as a 15-member Bible study group right in Kumuyi’s apartment at University of Lagos where he was a lecturer. His revolutionary Bible teaching on personal holiness and commitment to evangelism soon gained so much traction and resulted in a widespread revival.
