Isaiah 36:18 “Do not let Hezekiah mislead you when he says, ‘The Lord will deliver us.’ Has the god of any nation ever delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria?”

If any of the people using this Scripture list aren’t really familiar with the Bible, this chapter should certainly inspire them to keep reading to see what happens next! Sennacherib was indeed a great king, well recorded in the history books, and this chapter is a very detailed, and almost certainly accurate, record of his tactics. Why fight when intimidation can do the job? However, the field commander speaking here, and by extension Sennacherib himself, made a drastic miscalculation. They thought that Yahweh was like all the other gods they knew of, including their own: figments of human imagination, mythologies to tack onto natural events. In those days, only the Jews knew and worshiped the Creator of the universe, and the Assyrians were about to find that out. How all of that relates to us today is the many people who dismiss and denigrate genuine Christian faith. Granted, there are plenty of counterfeits out there, people who use their “faith” as an excuse and cover-up, but that doesn’t negate reality. Those who do know the One who not only created them, He sent His Son to die for them so that they could live as His children, should never be intimidated by the naysayers. Right now in the US there is an anti-Christian current that has never been so evident before. That’s all the more reason to stand up boldly and proclaim God’s truth! We are to do so humbly and in love, but with absolute assurance. We aren’t to let the insults embarrass us, because they are lies. Sometimes they can be ignored, but sometimes they need to be answered so that other people won’t be deceived into thinking they are true. Above all, our lives need to be the validation of our words, living out the truths we proclaim, so that our opposition may be silenced. (1 Peter 2:12; 3:15-16)

I’ve not encountered the kind of open opposition described here, but I’ve certainly run into a lot of people who didn’t think my God was worth considering for themselves. I can’t change people by my own wisdom and strength, but I’m never to discount what God can do. I’m always to speak the truth in love, not in pride or anger, so that my words may be useful to the Holy Spirit to bring conviction and repentance. The more I am assured of the God I know, the less I have to defend Him! (2 Timothy 1:12)

Father, thank You for this reminder, and that You are absolutely omnipotent and reliable. Help me indeed rest, relax, and rejoice in You, so that You may do in and through me exactly what You desire, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!