Strength In The Face Of Fear - 2 Chronicles 32:7

   
The king also wrote letters ridiculing the Lord, the God of Israel, and saying this against him: “Just as the gods of the peoples of the other lands did not rescue their people from my hand, so the god of Hezekiah will not rescue his people from my hand.” - 2 Chronicles 32:7

    When Sennacherib of Assyria was conducting his terror campaign against Judah, he used every weapon at his disposal, including psychological intimidation. He assured the Israelites that their ‘god’ could not and would not save them from his forces.
    Throughout history, terror has been a mainstay for the forces of malevolence. They use it to intimidate, demoralize, and dispirit the enemy or victim. The Klan used it effectively following the Civil war to undermine the security promised to the freed slaves. The Nazis used the Gestapo like a bloody ax. The Viet Cong often  ‘visited’ villages to remind them of what awaited those who would dare offer support to the enemy. Various cults have used it to terrorize hapless victims using curses and magical invocations to panic their victims into capitulation and submission. And today’s anarchists use it to threaten and bully law-abiding citizens into fear.  Their inevitable assertion is that nothing can save the target from the coming storm. And sadly, they are often rewarded for their devious efforts. It is the ultimate form of psychological warfare.
    But these forces are merely men. Flesh and blood, and no more. They are, in fact, the tools of a far more powerful force. “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” - Ephesians 6:12.
    We must see the forces we face as minions of the Accuser. Consider their methods. Consider their means. No matter how daunting these harbingers of hatred, division, and godlessness seem, we must see them and understand them for what they are: mere pawns used by Satan for his nefarious ambitions. They cannot and will thwart the plans of our sovereign God. “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” - Genesis 50:20.
    God has spoken to us with the assurance that we need never fear. “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” - Joshua 1:9. God has promised He will be with us throughout the worst of storms and throughout the worst that fallen humanity has to offer. He has promised that He is with us always. “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” - Matthew 28:19-20.
    We are commanded by God to draw near to Him in our times of need. This is no vague promise of deliverance. God doesn’t say He will deliver; He says He will give us strength to endure, strength to persevere. “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” - Hebrews 4:16.
    The enemy is always present while we are in this world because he is the ruler of the world. “The Lord said to Satan, ‘From where have you come?’ Satan answered the Lord and said, ‘From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.’”- Job 2:2. Satan’s presence here guarantees that we will always face his hostility by way of his craftiness and his minions. Those who serve the purposes of the Accuser are a malignant curse upon all of God’s people. But we have the promise of God - “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” - Romans 8:38-39.
    In the Biblical account, Sennacherib failed in his attempt to take Judah. All his threats, scare tactics, and coercion came to nothing. It was as so much chaff upon the breeze. So we remember the promises of the Lord. “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” - Psalm 23:4.