上帝安慰的同在能胜过我们的恐惧。

I, even I, am he who comforts you. Isaiah 51:12

惟有我，是安慰你们的。-以赛亚书51章12节

Are you a worrier? I am. I wrestle with anxiety almost daily. I worry about big things. I worry about small things. Sometimes, it seems like I worry about everything. Once in my teens, I called the police when my parents were four hours late getting home.

你是否事事都担忧呢？我是。我几乎每天都在焦虑中，大事小事我都担心。有时候，我似乎担心所有的事。在青少年时期，我就曾因父母迟了四个小时回家而打电话报警。

Scripture repeatedly tells us not to be afraid. Because of God’s goodness and power, and because He sent Jesus to die for us and His Holy Spirit to guide us, our fears don’t have to rule our lives. We may well face hard things, but God has promised to be with us through it all.

圣经一再告诉我们无须惧怕。因为上帝的良善和能力，又因祂差派耶稣为我们而死，还有祂的圣灵引导我们，所以我们的生命不再受恐惧的辖制。虽然我们会遇到困难，但上帝已经应许会与我们同在。

One passage that has helped me profoundly in fearful moments is Isaiah 51:12–16. Here, God reminded His people, who had endured tremendous suffering, that He was still with them, and that His comforting presence is the ultimate reality. No matter how bad things may seem: “I, even I, am he who comforts you,” He told them through the prophet Isaiah (v. 12).

每当我感到恐惧时，总是能从以赛亚书51章12-16节得到极大的帮助。在这段经文中，上帝提醒祂那些忍受巨大痛苦的子民，祂仍然与他们同在。只有祂令人得安慰的同在，才是确实可靠的。不管环境看似多么艰难，祂仍透过先知以赛亚告诉他们：“惟有我，是安慰你们的。”（12节）

I love that promise. Those eight words have been an emotion-steadying anchor for my soul. I’ve clung to this promise repeatedly when life has felt overwhelming, when my own “constant terror” (v. 13) has felt oppressive. Through this passage, God reminds me to lift my eyes from my fears and in faith and dependence to look to the One who “stretches out the heavens” (v. 13)—the One who promises to comfort us.

我甚爱这个应许！这短短的九个字已成为我心灵深处稳定情绪的定心丸。当生活面对极大的压力，或当我“整天害怕”（13节）感到压抑沉闷时，我就会抓住这个应许。透过这段经文，上帝提醒我不要只看自己的恐惧，而是凭信心仰望“铺张诸天”的那位上帝（13节），祂已应许要安慰我们。

主啊，有时我们在生活中所面对的困境，看起来如此巨大。但祢更是至高至大的主！当我们恐惧时，求祢让我们坚信祢所赐下安慰的应许。当我们信靠祢时，求祢让我们能经历祢慈爱的供应。

Isaiah 51:12-16    NIV

51 “I, even I, am he who comforts you. Who are you that you fear mere mortals, human beings who are but grass, 13 that you forget the Lord your Maker, who stretches out the heavens and who lays the foundations of the earth, that you live in constant terror every day because of the wrath of the oppressor, who is bent on destruction? For where is the wrath of the oppressor? 14 The cowering prisoners will soon be set free; they will not die in their dungeon, nor will they lack bread. 15 For I am the Lord your God, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—the Lord Almighty is his name. 16 I have put my words in your mouth and covered you with the shadow of my hand—I who set the heavens in place, who laid the foundations of the earth, and who say to Zion, ‘You are my people.’”

以赛亚书 51:12-16 

51 “唯有我，是安慰你们的。你是谁？竟怕那必死的人，怕那要变如草的世人， 13 却忘记铺张诸天，立定地基，创造你的耶和华。又因欺压者图谋毁灭要发的暴怒，整天害怕。其实那欺压者的暴怒在哪里呢？ 14 被掳去的快得释放，必不死而下坑，他的食物也不致缺乏。 15 我是耶和华你的神，搅动大海，使海中的波浪砰訇，万军之耶和华是我的名。 16 我将我的话传给你，用我的手影遮蔽你，为要栽定诸天，立定地基，又对锡安说：‘你是我的百姓。’”

INSIGHT

灵粮透视

Isaiah is fond of using imagery to display distinct ideas that are sometimes complementary and sometimes contrasting. Today’s passage presents contrasting ideas. In offering comfort to the people of Israel, Isaiah paints a portrait that gives the reader a beautiful vision of who God is in comparison to those who were trying to harm them. Notice the contrasts in verses 12–15: Mortals are like grass, while God stretches out the heavens and lays the foundations of the earth; the oppressor who stirs up wrath is nothing compared to the God who stirs the sea. While these words are comforting—after all, God is the one who covers us with the shadow of His hand—it’s important to understand that they don’t simply bypass the struggles we face. Isaiah acknowledges there is in fact an oppressor, and that oppressor is full of wrath. But he encourages us to see our difficulties in light of who God is and what He can do.

以赛亚喜欢用图象来展示不同的观念，它们有时是互补，有时是对比。今天阅读的这段经文就是在对比不同的观念。先知在安慰以色列百姓时描绘的图象，让读者看到一幅美丽的图画，将上帝与那些企图伤害他们的人两相对照。应特别留意12-15节经文中的对比：人就像草，而上帝铺张诸天、立定地基；欺压者只能搅动怒气，完全比不上那位搅动大海的上帝。虽然这样的话让人感到欣慰——上帝可以用祂的手遮蔽我们，但重要的是要明白，他们不是仅仅脱离了我们所面对的困境。以赛亚承认确实有个欺压他们的仇敌，而且这欺压者充满了怒气。但以赛亚鼓励我们，要在困难中看见上帝以及祂的大能。

What difficult situation do you need to view in comparison with God’s power?

你正面对什么困境，需要仰望上帝的大能呢？

整理：于姊妹