Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.”
Isaiah 35:4
Notice here how humane the Bible is, how tender the Word of God. This is no work of ‘self help’, urging those who worry to think positive thoughts or to visualise triumphant futures. In this verse God acknowledges that there are some “who have an anxious heart”. There are those - you? - who are especially prone to anxiety, who fret at night when all around are asleep.
If that is you, then God has a particular word to say to you: “be strong, fear not”. Not, you understand, because telling someone to “cheer up” will help, but because “He will come and save you”. You do not lie awake unnoticed but the Father sees every tear, every frown. Be assured, he whispers, I will come and save you. Wait awhile, but wait in confidence.
The Bible is full of a waiting confidence, of those who endure the confusion of the present moment knowing that they will soon find the clarity of the purpose of God. King David, at the dedication of the Temple, sang: “Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.” (Psalm 30:5).
So as something to pray through when that “anxious heart” begins to race, might I prescribe to you Psalm 46.1-5:
God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
though hits waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling.
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy habitation of the Most High.
God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;
God will help her when morning dawns.
Psalm 46:1-5
