Isaiah 54:4
“Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more”.
What Does It Mean To Be Ashamed?
When an action occurs or situation arises that brings a loss of face, respect or honor to an individual.
These are indeed difficult times for both the godly and ungodly. Apostle Paul Aptly captured our time when he wrote in 2 Timothy 3:1 that In the last days perilous times shall come. With the worsening state of Nigeria’s economy, all sizes of businesses in almost all the sectors of the economy are failing, bringing in its wake salary cuts, non-payment of salaries and mass retrenchment of workers. People are paralyzed by fear and resorting to despondency by reason of the fallout of these events.
In Psalm 37:17 and 19, King David drawing from his experience with The Lord says that The Lord upholdeth the righteous… They shall not be ashamed in the evil time [of calamity]”. No matter what happens, no matter how fearful the news becomes, even if the Nigerian economy reaches the point of total collapse — God’s people will not be left ashamed.
Indeed, the Lord will act on our faith to fulfill his Word to us. We may be facing impossibilities now or in the days ahead but we serve the God that calls Himself the God of impossibilities (I am The Lord of all flesh is there anything too hard for me ? Jeremiah 32:27), performing miracles when and where there is no human answer.
Unbelievers are watching every time the people of God face impossible situations and circumstances saying, “This person sings about God making a way to deliver him. Now we will see if his God will answer him. Will he make it through or will he end up in shame?”
Skeptics in Jesus’ day said similar things at the Crucifixion: “This man boasted his Father would raise him from the dead. Now we will watch and see. Will it be resurrection or shame?” Jesus was not oblivious of their doubt and taunts. But being God, He knew something they did not know: His Father would never allow him to be put to shame. I bring you good news today, God will not fail to deliver you from your troubles for his own name’s sake.
There are times when it looks as if God has not and will not show up — when his people will be left in shame and despair — but this will not be the conclusion of your case. You will not end in shame! What we fail to realize as believers is that in the midst of this crisis God’s own honor is at stake. His Word in Isaiah 54 verse 4 is at stake and Jeremiah 1:12 says God watches over His word to perform it. What He wants you to do as His servant is to commit Him through your faith to put his honor at stake and He will come through for you.
As an example, let’s look at the events that confronted Moses at the Red Sea.
This was a humanly impossible situation. Israel was on the run from the Egyptian army, hemmed in on one side by the sea and by mountains on the other. It was here Moses committed God to his promises. He had already prophesied God would lead Israel into the Promised Land. Now the God’s reputation was at stake for all to see.
When Pharaoh heard that Israel was trapped, all of Egypt expected to see the Israelites brought back in chains. Parades would be planned to celebrate Pharaoh’s victory, with golden idols exalted over the God of Israel. What was Moses’ reaction to this crisis? With the vast sea before him and the the best equipped and trained army in the world trailing him, he gave a battle cry, “Move forward!”
Imagine for a moment that the Red Sea did not open up miraculously, Moses would have been put to shame. The Israelites would go back into bondage, and God would never again be trusted. Thank God that as Moses stretched out his hand, the God that has never lost a battle, the God that never fails caused the waters to divide and the people of God walked across on dry ground. Truly no one who puts his trust fully in God will ever be put to shame. He will always deliver on his promise for his own name sake!
This is not the time to bury your face in shame and call a pity party. Think about Moses, he was a man of like passion. He believed in the God of miracles and acted on His word and his circumstances changed for better. It is your turn to put God’s honor, glory and reputation on the line concerning your present estate.
How are you going to do this? By ensuring you attend every service and pay attention to every word of faith as being delivered from the mouth of God’s servants; starting with the Fresh Fire Services. By imbibing the spirit of the Berean Christians; they received the word with great eagerness and examined the scriptures with the mind of acting on it. Be a part of our daily midnight intercessory prayers to commit your situation to the only God that can deliver you and join the monthly Hallelujah night of praise to thank Him for what He will do and what He has already done.
Have you reached a point where only a miracle from the Lord can set you free? Come to Rivers of Joy. You do not need to figure out how God will work things out; no one in the Bible did. But remember just one of his angels can put 185,000 men to flight. The Lord will not let you be put to shame! The Lord is saying today as in Ezekiel 20:14; when I delivered Israel, it was not in secret, I worked miracles for them before the whole world. He wants to do same for you.
Let Us Pray.
1. Thank the almighty God for keeping you alive till today – The fact that you are still
alive after all you have been through is an indication that God is already working
things out.
2. Father, turn around my captivity today. Let shame and reproach be a thing of the
past in my life forever in Jesus name!