Verse of the Day for June 1

Most people start reading at verse ten, with Fear thou not. It is worth backing up one line, because the command is not the first thing God says.

Before he tells Israel not to be afraid, he tells them who they are. Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away. The courage is built on a fact that was settled long before the fear showed up.

Notice also what has not changed yet. In verse eleven the people who were incensed against thee are still there. The promise is that they shall be as nothing, and it is in the future tense. Israel is asked to stop being dismayed before the evidence arrives.

That is what courage before you feel ready looks like. It is not a feeling you wait for. It is a decision to believe the earlier sentence, chosen and not thrown away, while the later sentence is still on its way.

Maybe you are sitting outside an interview room in Lagos, or waiting for a hard phone call to connect. You do not have to feel brave first. You only have to remember who called you before you walked in.

God did not wait for you to be ready before he chose you, so you need not wait to be ready before you trust him.

Whatever is set against you today is described by God in the future tense as nothing.