No Chicken Little

“Thus saith the Lord GOD, It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass.” (Isa 7:7 AV)

Sometimes, we limit the promises of God to those which promise He will do or provide something.  However, the promises of God also include those things which God will not allow.  In our text, the prophet is speaking of a perceived threat to Judah and Benjamin.  When he arrives on the wall of the Holy City to declare the word of God to the troubled residents thereof, he brings his son.  His son’s name means, “the remnant shall return.”  In the name God instructed the prophet to endow his son, He reminds the people of God of His covenant with Abraham and David.  It is much easier to convince someone of future blessing than it is present protection.  We do not have a problem believing in the proverbial pot at the end of a rainbow.  What we have issue with is believing the storm clouds that are rising will not pour forth their fury on us.

I have spent several evenings in the basement of a church hearing tornado sirens in the distance.  There I sat with my trust NOAA radio blaring the trajectory of the storm raging outside the four walls of my sanctuary.  Pun intended.  The first few times, I was a bit nervous.  Having been raised in a part of the country that has never seen nor experienced tornadoes, this was new and frightening to me.  Thinking that in a wink of an eye my life could be blown into oblivion was not a comforting feeling.  Then a funny think happened.  After a few seasons and trusting my NOAA radio, the anxiety level precipitously dropped.  Listening the radio, one could determine exactly where the storm was and the likelihood of it hitting.  The NOAA radio spoke very detailed information as to where the tornado was, the direction of travel, and the speed of travel.  Although once the sirens blared, I headed for the basement, it was no longer out of anxiety.  In fact, the very last time we endured such a threat, we stayed in the house.  I went to the back door and heard the famous ‘train sound’ depicted as a sure sign of a tornado.  The radio said it was three or so miles from our house, so there was no need to dive for the basement.

We have to believe that God doesn’t always have it out for us!  Yes, we are saved sinners in need of chastisement.  Yes, the LORD does allow or send adverse circumstances of our correction or spiritual growth.  But that doesn’t mean we have to be a Chicken Little.  The sky is not always falling.  In fact, it falls less that we think it does.  When we live with the expectation that nothing will work out, then nothing will work out.  If we live in a constant state of defeat, then we are paralyzed, cowering in fear of the next misfortune.  There is no going forward.  There is no usefulness for our existence.  We have to believe that most of the time, the things we fear will not come upon us!  God will not allow it to happen.