4 Things
"Then the LORD said to Isaiah, 'Go out to meet Ahaz, you and your son Shear-Jashub, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the Fuller's Field, and say to him, "Take heed, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two smoldering stumps of firebrands..."'"
(Isaiah 7:3-4)
Young King Ahaz was just 20 years old when his father (King Uzziah) died. So Ahaz was thrust into power. One of his first "situations" to arise was a pending attack on Judah by an alliance between the kings of Aram and Ephraim. Which, I can imagine, might be quite daunting for a young king just starting out. But God sends the prophet Isaiah to give him a message: 'Take heed, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart faint..."
The more I thought about these, and reread them... the more I realized those 4 commands are powerful words of advice for us even today. Let's look at them individually:
1) Take heed... which means, "Listen! Pay Attention!" Sometimes in life messages come our way, but we're not always focused and alert. So we miss them. And we miss what God might want to teach us. Isaiah reminds Ahaz that something important is coming. TAKE HEED!
2) Be quiet... which means, "Stop complaining... or panicking..." Stop screaming, moaning, whining, or groaning. Quieting one's mouth often leads to quieting one's spirit. BE QUITE.
3) Do not fear... There are many times in our life when our situations overwhelm us. And we (sometimes) freak out. We let fear take over. Pretty soon, we're so distraught that we can hardly function. So God tells Ahaz not to fear. We would do well in reminding ourselves of this, too. DO NOT FEAR.
4) Do not let your heart faint... The opposite of fear is a strong heart. When our hearts are full, we're able to withstand almost anything! So in addition to choosing not to give in to fear, we're called to STRENGTHEN OUR HEART.
These four commands are quite simple, aren't they? But they're so powerful! May we ALL keep them. Now... (and especially when we have tough days!).