Anxiously look about

“Do not fear, for I am with you: Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God,” Isaiah 41:10

Anxiously look about – Hebrew is a language that often uses parallel expressions to emphasize a point.  This is God’s version of a double-take.  God starts us off with a command about giving up fear.  “Don’t be afraid”, he says.  “You live in a world that is under My care.  Decide to trust Me.”  Then He gives us a behavioral parallel.  Don’t shift your gaze from one thing to another, worrying about what might befall you.  The meaning of the verb (shatha) is determined by the context.  Here it describes the activity of looking this way and that way possible for danger.  It’s the Hebrew way of describing, “looking over your shoulder”.  God says, “Trust Me, I’ve got your back.”

We all want someone to watch over us.  We can’t always see what’s coming.  But God can.  He reminds us that one of the behavioral consequences of trusting Him is to give up our anxiety and the actions that come from anxiety.  If you really live in a world where God cares for you, do you need to be anxious about what might happen next?  If you live in a world where God loves you and always does what is best for you, do you really need to worry about your life?

Eric Clapton plays a fabulous rendition of an old blues tune called “Worried Life Blues”.  I love the heart-tugging music.  But the best part is the repeated line, “Ain’t gonna’ worry my life no more.”  That’s God’s instruction to me.  “Don’t worry your life anymore.”

Red flag theology needs to become part of our daily walk.  Whenever we discover we are behaving on the basis of a worrisome world, we need to see a big red flag.  The world of worry is the world that says, “God doesn’t care about me.”  That’s a lie!  And who wants to live a life based on a lie.

How many red flags are you carrying around in your pocket today?