04: A Servant’s Confidence

Isaiah 54:17 – No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is from Me, says the Lord.

This is no blanket promise for any churchgoer. 

The Lord is speaking to His servants who have chosen to make Him their Lord. The Lord promises His protection to those whose righteousness is from Him. A servant who understands their righteousness is really from the Lord is more comfortable in letting the Lord protect their righteousness. And to these servants, He promises His protection. Are you a servant of the Lord? Then you can rest easy in His promised protection. God who is the Creator of the one who creates weapons of destruction, is also able to protect His people against it.

The Lord also protects His people from the destruction caused by the tongue. Satan leaves no stone unturned against the Church of God. He uses not simply the hand; but, what is oftener a sharper weapon, the tongue. We can bear a blow, sometimes, but we cannot endure an insult. There is great power in the tongue. We can rise from a blow which smote us to the ground; but we cannot so easily recover from slander, that lays the character low. (Spurgeon)

The weapon of the tongue can often be sharper than other weapons. Physical blows can be less painful than words of insult or slander. Yet we can trust the Lord’s triumph. No weapon formed against you will prosper sometimes means that the Lord would take the weapon out of the hand of the enemy. Other times it could be that the Lord would allow the weapon to strike but brings a greater good out of it than the pain of the immediate blow. The weapon does not prosper but is transformed into an instrument to build His kingdom. Whatever the situation, the Lord promises that weapons against His servants will not prosper.

Are you hurting from sharp words people have said to you? Words that have caused fear, worry, anger, and self-pity? Are you able to look past the person and their words to recognize them as Satan’s weapons of battle against you? Would you accept and live by the heritage that is yours as His servant?