Be Strong and Fear Not

I picked up C.H. Spurgeon's The Sword and the Trowel again, the first volume of a set of seven.  He cited Isaiah 35:4 which reads, "Say to those who are fearful-hearted, "Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God; He will come and save you."  On this theme he wrote:

"Oh how precious is the Word of God!  For it contains a cordial for every sickness, a balm for every wound, and here at the close of the day let me console myself with it.  How often does a fearful heart weaken and vex the people of God!  How well it is that the Holy Spirit has given this word to cheer them in their distresses!  Sometimes GREAT TROUBLES cause the heir of heaven to be much cast down.  But why is it so?  Are not our fears groundless?  Do not our troubles work our lasting good? Why need we fear the issue when it is in Jehovah's hands?  Our fears grieve us more than our afflictions.  Our greatest pains spring from our unbelief, not from our trials, for if we had more faith our trials could not makes us afraid...GREAT DUTIES also have a tendency to alarm our poor timorous flesh and blood, but let us remember that the work is the Lord's, we do not go a warfare at our own charges.  Our Master will never set us upon a work which is too hard for us.  When we have his command we are sure to have his assistance.  BE STRONG, FEAR NOT." (Spurgeon, C. H. C.H. Spurgeon's Works as Published in His Monthly Magazine The Sword and The Trowel. Vol. 1. Pasadena, TX: Pilgrim Publications, 1975. 244. Print.)

We need not take vengeance, for our God will come with vengeance.  He has provided us everything which pertains to life and godliness.  Not one thing He commands us can we do by our own strength, yet all things God commands us we are enabled to do through faith in Him.  The picture of the man going to war is a good one, for no soldier supplies his own tanks, food, transport, and battle plan.  Pilots in the Air Force do not supply or repair their own planes, nor do they buy the missiles loaded upon them or what is a strategic target!  Sailors in the Navy do not purchase the aircraft carrier they are stationed on or tend livestock for food when deployed.  Their training, gear, supplies, and orders come from others.  At the same time a soldier, airman, or sailor is required to apply himself in fitness, training, and skill development.  For armed forces to be effective in following orders they must be equipped, and God has done more than this for us.  As we labour to do His work, He will supply all our needs.

Let us be strong, and fear not!  Spurgeon is right:  if we had more faith in God "our trials could not make us afraid."  The old song laments, "O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer."  When God tells us in His Word to "be strong in the LORD and in the power of His might" (Eph. 6:10) through the Holy Spirit we can be strong.  It is acknowledging our weakness and trusting in God that we discover strength which transcends our own.  Praise the LORD:  the things which are impossible with men are possible with God!