124. Not Ashamed, Confounded, Reproached
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.
God promises that we shall not be ashamed for believing in Jesus; we will be not confounded since we will not be put to shame while the shame of youth is forgotten; we will not remember the reproach of being left alone, unprotected, uncared for or abandoned. The rewards of grace will positively be there. Disappointment is impossible.
The argument for faith in God used to be thus: “If I believe in God and He turns to be nonexistent I have lost nothing; if you don’t believe in God and He turns out to be true you will lose everything.” Which would you choose? But neither an atheist nor a believer is convinced by logic. It is a matter of faith in the love and grace of God, which we know to be real because of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The believer has no doubts: he knows he will not be let down. No amount of atheistic propaganda or derision could convince us otherwise. Equally, no amount of sound logic would convince the hardened atheist either.
Nevertheless, we shall not be ashamed or confounded for our faith. We are willing to face persecution, torture and death, and we would still not give up our faith in Christ. We can face life, death, the judgment and the future with confidence, joy and victory. We can be confident without being smug. We can be bold without being brash or rude. We can be humble without being crushed. We can be loving and kind with no thought of return, because we know God has His rewards waiting for us, for no one will lose his reward. Jesus says, “When you have a party, invite those who cannot invite you back or repay your kindness.” He can say this and we can believe it because we have this promise from the Lord.
The reproach and pain of widowhood will be forgotten since we will be wedded to another Groom. This Bridegroom loves us and cherishes us forever, for He will be with us always. Neither the Bride nor the Groom will ever die.