"Stand Firm in Your Faith"

“If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.”

Isaiah 7:9b

I was gripped during my devotion, earlier this week, by this verse found in the book of Isaiah. In the passage leading up to this verse, Judah had come under attack by Rezin- King of Aram and then again by Pekah- King of Israel. Both armies tried and failed to penetrate the walls of Jerusalem and destroy the City of David. Ahaz, son of Jotham, was King of Judah at that time and managed to keep the imposing armies at bay.

Then word came to the king that Aram & Ephraim (Israel) planned to join forces and try again to overpower them:

“Now the House of David was told, “Aram has allied itself with Ephraim”; so the hearts of Ahaz and his people were shaken, as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind.”

Isaiah 7:1-2

Have you ever been shaken? Like Judah, we can usually face opposition and trials, with a measure of confidence, if they come at us “one” at a time. However, when “more” than one comes at us at once we often become gripped with fear. Ahaz faced his opposition successfully when they came at him separately, but now they were coming at him at the same time. Trouble always seem to comes in pairs. We never really face one problem at a time, but usually we get bombarded from many different directions.

In the midst of this, God spoke to Isaiah and told him to go to the king and give him this message:

“Say to him, ‘Be careful, keep calm, and don’t be afraid. Do not lose heart because of these two smoldering stubs of firewood.”

Isaiah 7:4a

Judah’s enemies wanted to invade them, tear the city apart and divide it among themselves, but God had the final word:

“Yet this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “It will not take place, it will not happen.”

Isaiah 7:7

God promised Judah that within sixty-five years Aram and Ephraim would be too shattered to be a people. He told them to stand firm in their faith and trust Him! If they did not stand firm in their faith, they would not stand at all! He told Ahaz to ask Him for a sign that would signify His faithfulness. Ahaz refused to ask, so the Lord gave Him a sign:



“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”
Isaiah 7:14

God pointed to the coming of Christ as the sign of His faithfulness. Be encouraged today! Jesus is still God’s sign of faithfulness towards us. Although you may feel as if the enemies that you are facing are going to overwhelm you, God says, “It will not take place, It will not happen.” But you must stand firm in your faith, if you hope to stand at all.




Pastor Scott Burr http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com