“Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the LORD, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.” Isaiah 41:14
Suggested Scripture reading Isaiah 41:10 – 29
She had found the right song to sing in church on Sunday. She just knew that everyone would love it. Or rather, they would love hearing her sing it. She knew that she had talent. When she sang before everyone always just praised her talent. She was sure she could do a good job even if she hadn’t really had a chance to rehearse it adequately. She was sure she could do it and do it well. That morning she stood with confidence and moved to the platform with an easy smile. The introduction to the song began but as she opened her mouth for the first note a baby on the front row cried out. Our singer was distracted just enough that she missed her entrance. When she caught up with her accompaniment she realized that she was flat and off the melody. When she finished the first line her mind went completely blank. She could not remember the words. Her song was ruined.
Isaiah, in chapter 41 verse 14, uses a very startling expression. God wanted to give His people comfort and confidence when He told them to “Fear not.” Then He calls them a “worm”, a despised and lowly worm. The Father is not being insulting. He is telling His people that they need to be humble and submitted to Him. “I will help thee, saith the LORD, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. Behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth.” (Isaiah 41:14b-15) When Israel was humbled, God made them into an instrument that He could use. This word “worm” is the same word that is used of the Messiah in Psalm 22:6. If the Lord Jesus was humbled, should not His servants serve Him in humility?
Our singer was humiliated. All she could do was to stop and ask the accompanist to begin again. She learned a good lesson that morning. This time, depending on the power of the Spirit of God to be a blessing when she sang, the Lord was able to touch hearts with her song. She learned that singing for the Lord in church was not a platform to show off her talent. When she sang she was to lead those who heard her song to worship. If she had mounted the platform with the same spirit that she had when she came down, her song would have been a real blessing from the start. God wants you to present your abilities to Him and expect Him to bless those abilities. When we do this we can count on Him to take our talent and use it for His glory. When we seek to use our talents for the Lord with His blessing we will hear Him say,
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”
“Fear not; O humble one, I will make you into what you need to be.” Romans 12:1
[podcast]https://lifeabovefear.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/029-Fear-not-thou-worm.mp3[/podcast]
