Isaiah 41:10 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
Don’t Worry, God Holds the Future
If I were to ask you what your greatest fear is right now, the one thing I know is that your fear wouldn’t be about now. It would be about the future. Someone says, “No, Wil, something happened yesterday and it really worries me.” If you’re worried about something that happened yesterday, you’re only worried about it because of what might happen. The past is done. A person can regret his past, but he can only fear his future.
Israel certainly knew this. They had a lot to regret, and God had given many stern warnings and judgments in the book of Isaiah. However, we start to find much comfort beginning in chapter 40. In Isaiah 41:10 God is speaking of His presence, power, and help in the future. This is based upon the fact that God made Israel. God made you too. Now, I know you’re not Israel, but God’s character is undiminished and has not changed. The way God speaks of His care here is very much the same as God’s heart towards you today.
The truth that we need to grasp here is that we don’t need to know the future if we know the One who knows the future. We don’t need to fear the future if we fear the God who controls the future. Worry is a function of trying to control, know, and dwell in tomorrow without thinking of the God who created and owns me.
We need not worry about problems down the road when God is already there. God holds the future, and He holds those who have been created by Him. There’s a lot to worry about today, so why not let God “worry” about it. God will not be anxious, but God is capable of handling the problems and uncertainties of this day and the future to come.