Be Not Dismayed!

Isaiah 41:10 “Fear not, for I am with you: be not dismayed, for I am your God, I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” – Be Not Dismayed!

Civilla Martin - Be not dismayed whate'er betide – God will take care of you. Be Not Dismayed!

If you’ve clicked on any news app or listened intently to various conversations, you’ve likely heard talking about how folks feel about the recent election and its results. Not to mention, we are now presented with all the names of those who will potentially lead our nation for the next four years. The sentiment from most people today is that one political party is ruining everything, or one leader is maniacally wicked and must be stopped. The wicked ways of people on both sides are so clear to us. What’s not as evident are our own biases and the excuses we make for our own wickedness toward what is happening.

If we accept the doomsaying we hear everywhere, we’d be inclined to live in fear, run for the hills, or conclude that everyone has only evil intentions. I have heard in the past week, from Christians that say they are nervous, scared, fearful, don’t want to wake up in the morning because the results of the election were not what they wanted. They have allowed the world system to cause them to be anxious and in distress. However, the Bible presents a more tasteful picture. While every one of us, presidential or otherwise, is flawed and sinful, we can be confident that God will bring good out of this election. His common grace will ensure it.

In the verses before us, God gives us, His children some reasons and results to be encouraged. Some may say, "I don’t have anything to be encouraged about; it just seems that everything is against me." Thank God, even when we forget His promises, He still remembers. The deliverances the Lord has brought. The way God has led. The blessings God has bestowed. The victories God has won. The encouragement God has given. Be Not Dismayed…

God both consoles and corrects us, his chosen people. Israel's consolation, as is ours is that God has chosen Israel and us as His people. You are the Chosen of God! The FAVOR of GOD rests upon you!

In this verse is presented to us God’s relations to us expressed in preposition form. words that connect nouns, pronouns, or phrases to other words in a sentence

I am with you—by your side. I am your God—over you. I will strengthen you—from inside of you. I will help you—all around you. I will uphold you—underneath you.

He’s by you, over you, inside you, around you, underneath you. So, Be Not Dismayed…

1. THE REASONS FOR NOT BEING DISMAYED (41:8–9)

Israel was selected because Abraham, its founder, was a special friend of God. It’s good to have good friends. Somebody sang the words, “there’s a man over river…” He’s the God who rolled this earthly planet into space; baptized it with a liquid vapor; ordered the variety of blooming flowers and transfigured them into a marvelous attraction. This is the God we serve. Two reasons for not being dismayed:

a. We are Recipients of Divine Choice (41:8)

There is a special relationship between God and His people. God sovereignly chose us to be His servants and to do His will. After Israel was sent into captivity, God promised to regather them. There is a frequent theme in this 2nd major division of the Book of Isaiah, God says Israel is chosen. God loves them so much, not because of their worthiness but because of His divine choosing. That is what God has done for us in Christ. He chose us before the foundation of the world. He called us out of darkness and death. And he took us for himself to be His. To make Himself our God.

b. We are Recipients of Divine Care (41:9)

There is no care like God's care. We may be exiled because of sin and unbelief, but we are still not rejected by God. We may often fail to be faithful, and God may punish us. However, since the covenant the Lord made long ago was unconditional, his descendants need not fear. The Lord remains our God, He will continue to be by you, over you, inside you, around you, and underneath you.

We are recipients of Divine Choice and Care; those are reasons not to dismay.

2. THE RESULTS OF NOT BEING DISMAYED (41:10–20)

The Bible gives reasons but also accompanies the reasons with results. Reasons for doing this or that or not doing this or that don’t hang in the air with no basis in reality. If God tells us the reasons for not being dismayed, there are good results that come because of us obeying. And you are built up as a result of understanding those reasons, but your power comes from believing the results that accompany the reasons. Three results of not being dismayed.

a. We Receive Divine Protection (41:10b–16)

He will strengthen, help, and uphold his people. The Lord will cut off anyone who opposes them.

b. We Receive Divine Provision (41:17–20)

He plants trees and provides water. God's work done God's way will never lack God's supply.

c. We Receive Divine Presence (41:10a)

The Lord says, seven times between 41:1 and 44:28, “Fear Not” to His chosen people. He says the same thing to us today because of His Divine Presence. God is with us and will give us victory.

His Presence Will Strengthen Us– He will give us the power to see every duty and every day to its

a) conclusion.

b) His Presence Will Support Us – He will give us what we need, when we need it, in the exact proportions that we need it.

c) His Presence Will Sustain Us – God will keep us and get us safely through the journey home. That’s why I need not dismay!

· Genesis 28:15: “Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go…”

· Deuteronomy 31:8 “…the Lord, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed.”

· Joshua 1:9: “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

I know you are concerned, Matthew 6:25-34 suggests, about Food, Fitness, Fashion, Finances, Future … but seek first…

Our journey may be long, or it may be short. Whatever the length or whatever we face, I’m thankful that we can count on God to take care of us. The crucial factor for you not being dismayed is not what has happened to you but who your God is.

Son wanted to go to party with friends.

He puts perfume in the precious petals of plants, base in the voice of thunder, flash in the eyes of lightning, laugh in a hyena, songs in a bird, growl in a bear, speed in a cheetah, stank in a skunk, weight in a whale, sting in a porcupine, height in a giraffe. That’s the God I serve! I don’t have to live in dismay!

He handled helium and hydrogen; hung it in the heavens; told a scientist to call it the sun. He scooped out the oceans; shaped the mountains. He hurled the elements in the air, and they fell to form solid rocks, he leaned over the balcony of heaven; sprinkled the earth with snow; every spring he blows a warm breeze thaws them out so that water bodies maintain their levels. He tells the sun rays to kiss water droplets as they fall from crying clouds to quench the thirst of creation. That’s the God I serve! I don’t have to live in dismay!

He sent his one and only Son; to die on a hill called Calvary; one Friday, He died; was buried, but thank God, death couldn’t stop Him, and the grave couldn’t hold Him. He stopped by Minot ND, one Sunday evening, and there I sat in lost and state. But he touched my heart, saved me from sin. Not I got to tell it wherever and whenever I get then chance … Be not dismayed whate'er betide – God will take care of you – Beneath His wings of love abide – Through every day, o'er all the way – No matter what may be the test – Lean, weary one, upon His breast – God will take care of you.