It’s great for people to tell you that when you’re afraid God says, “Do Not Be Afraid.” Great!  But, well, when I am afraid, what do I do with that feeling?  How do I make it go away?  How do I get back on an even keel?

Fear is a subject that frankly, we don't much like talking about. But that's exactly what we're talking about on the program this week. Because fear, fear is something that we all go through. You know when there's that 800 pound gorilla in the room. It's hard, it's incredibly hard to believe that God is bigger than the gorilla. Of course He is but it just doesn't feel like that when that gorilla is so up close. And the hardest thing, I think, in overcoming fear in life is actually getting to that point where we have a high level of confidence in God. Where we put our confidence and our trust in this God who says, "Do not be afraid." Instead of in the gorilla, who's so here and now.

Where we put our confidence in who God is. What He's done. His might and His power and His sovereignty. They all sound great in theory. God created the universe. He's all-powerful, great. That's the theory but what about in practice? What about when the rubber hits the road? Then what?

See, I used to think that it was up to me and I guess, in part, it is but not completely. Just as well. You and I, we're human. I can't conjure up confidence. I can't take this theory about who God is and let the theory wipe away the fear. Because fear is real. I need something more than just theory. I need more than promises on a piece of paper.

Yesterday on the program, we looked at what God had to say to His chosen people, Israel, when they were afraid. They'd lost their Promised Land, they were slaves in Babylon, in exile. Yeah, God’s chosen people. It sort of seemed that God had deserted them. When it feels like the Babylonians, who after all were the dominant world power, well it felt like they were more powerful than the God of Israel.

So God, as we saw yesterday, points out creation to them. The heavens, the trillions of stars. The stars that the Babylonians, by the way, worshipped. He said, "I made them. I made the heavens and the earth. Don't you think I can save you from the Babylonians?"

You see, for the Israelites, the Babylonians were the 800 pound gorilla in the room. It was seemingly impossible. And if it were left up to the Israelites to work up the courage to believe that God would save them from the Babylonians, it was never going to happen. They didn't have that much faith. They were slaves, they were in exile for 70 years. No, God had to do something. God had to help them. God had to change their hearts and touch them deep inside. And fortunately, that's exactly what God had planned to do.

He didn't want to leave it up to them and here and now, He doesn't want to leave it up to us either. He wants us to actually experience His peace. Not our strength. Not some confidence or peace that we wave up with a magic wand. But a peace and a strength that come, only, from God.

Let's pick up the rest of the story. We began in chapter 40 of Isaiah yesterday and we'll begin at verse 28:

Haven't you known? Haven't you heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the earth. He doesn't faint or grow weary. His understanding is unsearchable.

Great, there it is again - the theory but now, watch what comes next. In Isaiah chapter 40, verse 29:

God gives power to the faint. He strengthens the powers. Even youths will faint and be weary and the young will fall exhausted. But those who wait for the Lord will renew their strength. They'll mount up with wings like eagles. They'll run and not be weary. They'll walk and not be faint.

Do you see the point? The power and the strength, where do they come from? Do I conjure them up? Do I somehow magically work hard enough to be confident? No. God gives power to the faint. God strengthens the powerless. See, even young people will faint and be weary. Even the strong will fall exhausted. But, and here's the but, here’s the glorious, wondrous, powerful "but":

But those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not grow faint.

You know what it means to wait? When we wait, you know when we're in a tough place. When we're afraid and scared and uncomfortable. You know what we want to do? We want to grumble. We, I got to tell you, we want to grumble.

'God, what are you doing? Why are you letting me go through this? Can't you deal with this? Look at that person over there, they're doing all the wrong things and you're blessing him.' We can find so many things to grumble about can't we? That's not the sort of waiting that God is talking about here, you know:

But those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength.

You know what that word "wait" means? It doesn't mean to wait with a bad attitude. It doesn't mean to wait with grumbling in our hearts and on our lips. It means to wait expectantly. To wait on God with the expectation that He is who He says He is. That He will do what He says He's going to do. To wait there right in the middle of our fear with the 800 pound gorilla in the room and say, "You know something, I can't do anything about my slavery in Babylon. I can't over throw the Babylonians. I can't do anything and God seems like a million miles away. But I'm just going to wait here expecting God to do something. Expecting God to show up. I know other people will tell me I'm a fool for doing that. I know it's not rational. I know it's not logical. But God’s word says that":

Those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not grow faint

Right with our emotions on that roller coaster ride. With our enemies around us. With our hearts cast down. To wait with an expectation somewhere deep inside that God's going to act. That God’s going to show up.

And you know, I've been in those places so many times and it invariably doesn't feel good. It's easy to listen to some guy with a smooth voice on the radio and think, "Well it's okay for him. You know, he's in a nice safe radio studio. And it's nice and clean and clinical. And, what does he know?"

No, I've been in those tough places. I've wept over this scripture and waited and it never feels wonderful and spiritual. It always feels hard. But God means to do what He says He's going to do. Who knows? Will God give us victory over our enemies or not? I don't know.

More Christians have been martyred in the 20th century than in the 2000 years before that combined. We all die sometime. Is He going to deal with this cancer or let it take its course? I don't know.But there's one thing I know. God is saying,

Do not be afraid.

Do not be afraid.

God gives us His peace and His strength when we wait expectantly on Him. It doesn't matter how big or ugly or bad the enemy is. It doesn't matter how fearful we are. Why? Because He gives us His peace. That's the promise.

My friend, do not be afraid. Let your confidence rest on God Himself. And then, let Him do the rest.