My sanctuary (Isaiah 8)

Isaiah 8:10 Form a plan, and it shall be thwarted; make a resolve and it shall not be carried out, for “With us is God.”

Isaiah 8:13-14 (KJV) Sanctify the Lord of hosts Himself; and let Him be your fear, and let Him be your dread. And he shall be for you a sanctuary, but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offense to both the houses of Israel, for a trap and a for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 

It is way to easy to let fear creep into our minds, to begin to worry about something. Fear is an unpleasant emotion caused by something else that is dangerous. The difference in fear and worry is that fear is against something concrete. Like I fear clowns, the presence of the actual clown person in a room. Worrying is an anxiety or unease about something that we cannot control. To relate my fear versus worry, I cannot spend my time worrying that a clown may appear at a costume party, because I have no control over that. I give that worry to God. Same with spiders. I can’t continue having anxiety about going into our basement dark area because I am afraid spiders are there. I just have to put my faith in God that even if there are, he will take care of me. 

Israel allowed fear to creep unto them. They were fearful of their enemies, and allowed that fear to make them turn to other nations for alliances instead of turning to God. The thing is, the enemies were going to attack regardless. That plan was already put into motion by God. If the Israelites had turned to God though, they wouldn’t have suffered through the impending attack and what it would cause for future leadership. 

These verses caught my attention today because with moving, there is worry. I am constantly finding new things to give to God, the biggest being selling our home here and finding another one there. And the fact that we cannot have two mortgages at once, so we won’t be able to buy unless we sell. That is a big worry, but after I read these verses, again I am pulled to see that unless I fear God, unless I make him my sanctuary, all my plans may become thwarted. I need to find rest and comfort in him. My mother always said, “‘if you want to hear God laugh, tell him your plans.” I need to allow God’s plan to take form and trust in it. This will not be easy as humans have a deep desire for control. Please pray with me friends that I can’t let go of the control and trust in God, so that all the measures will fall into place at the right time.