Rest from sorrow, fear and bondage

Rest from sorrow, fear and bondage

Scripture:- And it shall come to pass in the day that the LORD shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy fear, and from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve, Isaiah 14:3

Observation:- The beginning of Isaiah 14 is addressed to Israel and to the “strangers cleaved unto her” which seems to be a reference to us, the Gentiles, who through Jesus Christ have also become God’s people. And in his prophecy, Isaiah declared that there would be a day when God would give Israel 3 things, rest from sorrow, rest from fear, and rest from hard bondage.

Firstly, looking at sorrow, we see that God is always the Great Comforter. When Jesus came upon the earth, He healed the sick, cast out demons, and raised the dead, often turning sorrow into joy. Jesus said that when He went away, He would ask the Father to send us another Comforter which is the Holy Spirit. In the Book of Revelation, it is written that God will wipe away every tear from the eyes of His loved ones. In Peter, we see the great verse “Cast your cares upon Him for He cares for you”. Jesus feels our sorrow and He bore the sorrows of the world on the cross. When Lazarus died, I believe Jesus already knew He would raise him from the dead, yet Jesus wept. I believe this is because He felt acutely the sorrow that Mary and Martha felt. Indeed, God know our sorrows and comforts us in His love.

Secondly, looking at fear, we realize that today there is much in life to fear. Crime, disease, loss of occupation, political instability, the economy….  Yet God has promised a time when we will find rest from fear, and it is a very precious thing indeed. The tonic for fear is trust, and the more we trust God, the more fear dissipates away. The worries of this life is a dangerous thing and one of the reasons many Christians live an unfruitful life. But we need to remember that God did not give us a spirit of fear but of power, love and a sound mind. When we focus on the love of Jesus, we will not fear for where there is perfect love, there is no fear.

Finally, looking at hard bondage. In many parts of the world today, there are many, even Christians, who are under hard bondage, slave workers in factories, prostitutes and beggars all over the world, even maids employed by cruel employers. When Jesus Christ comes again to rule upon the earth, all these bondage will be no more. Likewise, there are also many who are enslaved by the things of the world – alcohol, drugs, gluttony, shopaholics, computer addicts, glue, obsession with beauty, pornography. The list is endless. Jesus said that He came to set the captives free, and when we come to Jesus, we indeed can be set free from the things that enslave us.

Application:- When we are in sorrow, come to Jesus and find Comfort in Him. When we are fearful, come to Jesus, and find peace in Him. When we are in bondage, come to Jesus, and let His truth set us free.

Prayer:- Lord, I thank You that You are my Great Comforter, and You always care for me. I thank You that You are my peace that drives away all my fear. I thank You that You have set me free from every bondage by Your precious sacrifice on the cross. Thank You, Lord, let me ever abide in You. In Jesus name, Amen