our daily bread

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Dexu Xia

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Aug 6, 2018, 11:11:01 PM8/6/18

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An Anchor When We’re Afraid

I, even I, am he who comforts you. Isaiah 51:12

Are you a worrier? I am. I wrestle with anxiety almost daily. I worry about big things. I worry about small things. Sometimes, it seems like I worry about everything. Once in my teens, I called the police when my parents were four hours late getting home.

Scripture repeatedly tells us not to be afraid. Because of God’s goodness and power, and because He sent Jesus to die for us and His Holy Spirit to guide us, our fears don’t have to rule our lives. We may well face hard things, but God has promised to be with us through it all.

One passage that has helped me profoundly in fearful moments is Isaiah 51:12–16. Here, God reminded His people, who had endured tremendous suffering, that He was still with them, and that His comforting presence is the ultimate reality. No matter how bad things may seem: “I, even I, am he who comforts you,” He told them through the prophet Isaiah (v. 12).

I love that promise. Those eight words have been an emotion-steadying anchor for my soul. I’ve clung to this promise repeatedly when life has felt overwhelming, when my own “constant terror” (v. 13) has felt oppressive. Through this passage, God reminds me to lift my eyes from my fears and in faith and dependence to look to the One who “stretches out the heavens” (v. 13)—the One who promises to comfort us.

Lord, sometimes the struggles we face in life seem so big. But You are bigger. Help us to cling to Your promise of comfort in fearful moments and to experience Your loving provision as we trust You.

God’s comforting presence is more powerful than our fears.

定心丸

惟有我，是安慰你们的。-以赛亚书51章12节

你是否事事都担忧呢？我是。我几乎每天都在焦虑中，大事小事我都担心。有时候，我似乎担心所有的事。在青少年时期，我就曾因父母迟了四个小时回家而打电话报警。

圣经一再告诉我们无须惧怕。因为上帝的良善和能力，又因祂差派耶稣为我们而死，还有祂的圣灵引导我们，所以我们的生命不再受恐惧的辖制。虽然我们会遇到困难，但上帝已经应许会与我们同在。

每当我感到恐惧时，总是能从以赛亚书51章12-16节得到极大的帮助。在这段经文中，上帝提醒祂那些忍受巨大痛苦的子民，祂仍然与他们同在。只有祂令人得安慰的同在，才是确实可靠的。不管环境看似多么艰难，祂仍透过先知以赛亚告诉他们：“惟有我，是安慰你们的。”（12节）

我甚爱这个应许！这短短的九个字已成为我心灵深处稳定情绪的定心丸。当生活面对极大的压力，或当我“整天害怕”（13节）感到压抑沉闷时，我就会抓住这个应许。透过这段经文，上帝提醒我不要只看自己的恐惧，而是凭信心仰望“铺张诸天”的那位上帝（13节），祂已应许要安慰我们。

主啊，有时我们在生活中所面对的看来如此巨大。
但祢更是至高至大的主！当我们恐惧时，
求祢让我们能坚信祢必赐下安慰的应许。
当我们信靠祢时，求祢让我们能经历祢慈爱的供应。