At the point of a gun
During the many freedom liberation struggles the common man faced an unprecedented challenge at the barrel of a gun literally. The ruling regime would want them to be loyal to them and so would the freedom fighters. One person expected to be loyal to opposed factions, who would win. I would like to think the party to win would usually be the one present at that time literally at the point of a gun. When someone asks for water whether ruling regime or freedom fighter they would get water. The one to fear at that moment was the one holding the gun.
Things are different with God you see because he literally holds the smoking gun, the power over death. So in our day to day when asked for water with a gun pointed to our heads who do we give into. And so the Lord gave Isaiah counsel
Do not call conspiracy everything this people calls a conspiracy; do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it. The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread.”
Isaiah 8:12,13
We live in a time with many conspiracies perhaps true, perhaps not the Lord counsels Isaiah to put his focus on God’s smoking gun. Do not fear Israel’s and Syria’s small pistols. You see for this short period of pain we may suffer Syria’s pistol but in the long run we will be freed. More so when we fear the Lord not in terror but respect, putting him first in our lives, above all. After all he has after all shed his own blood for our lives.
