In today's text the Lord cautions Isaiah and other godly people not to fall prey to panic. The people of the Lord must keep their focus on Him, not on the state of the world, not on rumors, not on conspiracy theories. Fixating on such things only brings fear into the heart. In contrast, this is what the Lord will do for the one who keeps their eyes on Him: "You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in You." (Isaiah 26:3)
The people of Isaiah's nation of Judah have been thrown into a panic by the news that the kings of Israel and Aram have banded together to come and lay siege to Jerusalem. Isaiah is not to give way to such panic and the Lord has made that very clear to him. The prophet states, "This is what the Lord says to me with His strong hand upon me, warning me not to follow the way of this people: 'Do not call conspiracy everything this people calls a conspiracy; do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it.'" (Isaiah 8:11-12)
I am about to turn fifty-four years old and I have never seen such a time as the one in which we are currently living: a time in which so many citizens of the world have fallen prey to hundreds of conspiracy theories. People are panicking over things that are discussed online by people who are living in as much fear as they are. The more they immerse themselves in such panic-filled discussion boards, the more their own fear grows. Lately I've Googled some of the current conspiracy theories going around and was astonished to learn just how many people have lost everything they have by buying into various theories. I was astonished to learn how many people have cut off relationships with their loved ones because their loved ones aren't interested in doomsday prepping with them. What are all these things doing for anybody? I think the main purpose of it is Satanic: to get people's minds off the Lord and to isolate them from those who might try to direct their focus back to the Lord.
We don't have to fear what the world fears. The child of God is never commanded to live in fear. In fact, over and over in the Scriptures we find the Lord saying to those who trust in Him: "Do not fear."
How do we keep from becoming overly concerned about things that are going on in this world or when we see those around us going about their lives in a spirit of fear? We are to do what Isaiah, on the authority of Almighty God, says we are to do: "The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, He is the one you are to fear, He is the one you are to dread." (Isaiah 8:13) The "fear" of which Isaiah speaks is a holy and reverent awe. He's not saying we are to be living in constant dread that the Lord is going to smite us down; he's saying that if we put God first in our lives, everything else will fall into its proper place. He's saying that if we revere and serve the Lord, we will have a sense of calmness and peace that the world can't give us, which is why the Lord Jesus spoke these comforting words: "Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." (John 14:27)
The peace the world gives is shallow and temporary. It depends on everything going the way we think it should. But the peace the Lord gives is a deep and abiding peace. It's the kind of peace that holds firm even when, by man's standards, it looks like the world is falling down around us.
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