Lessons · Mon Sep 28, 2026 · Scripture
Isaiah 40–43 — "Fear Thou Not; For I Am with Thee"
Isaiah 40–49
The principle
God does not abandon His covenant people. He comforts them, holds their hand, and opens rivers in high places.
What the lesson is for
Help students name a fear they actually carry, and find a specific passage in Isaiah 40–43 that God wrote for exactly that — including the promise that He puts water where there is none.
Personal study, first ten minutes
Isaiah 41:10–14, 17–18
Count how many separate promises God makes in verses 10 and 13 — there are more than you expect. Then in 17–18: who gets the water, and where does He put it?
The deck
Click any card to see it full size.
Teacher notes
Supplies, board work and timing. Never printed on the cards.
THE THEME LESSON OF THE SEMESTER — say this out loud and do not bury it. ISAIAH 41:17–18 IS THE PARABLE OF THE WATER IN ISAIAH'S OWN WORDS: 'When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst... I will open rivers in HIGH PLACES.' The hill in panel one has a tap on it because Isaiah 41:18 put it there. The class has been looking at a teacher-made drawing all autumn; today they find out it was drawn off a verse. Have /theme open or the panel-one image up when you read it. SUPPLIES: board for the fear list, and the FEAR—COMFORT scale drawn as a long horizontal line (students copy it into their journals and mark two points: how they feel about life now, and about the future). ELDER RASBAND's list is the opening and it works because it is exhaustive — read it until they hear their own: single adults fear commitment, missionaries fear strangers, widows fear going alone, teenagers fear not being accepted, we fear failure, rejection, disappointment, the unknown, not being chosen and being chosen. 'Have I included just about everyone?' CONTEXT THAT MAKES CHAPTER 40 LAND: Isaiah 1–39 is warning; chapter 40 turns and God has Isaiah write to Jews who are not born yet, who will read it in Babylonian captivity. He comforted them decades before they needed it. THE MODEL IS NOT OPTIONAL — the manual has you demonstrate the three-step comfort message with Isaiah 41:10–14 before the students build their own, and the activity collapses without the demonstration. 'WORM JACOB' (41:14) means meek and humble, not disgusting; say so before somebody laughs. CALLBACK: Isaiah 40:31 'they that wait upon the Lord' is Lesson 117 from last Tuesday — the marshmallows. Same promise, six days later. DO NOT promise anyone that the fear goes away; chapter 40 was written to people whose captivity happened anyway. The promise is 'I am with thee,' not 'it will not happen.'
Journal prompt
The last five minutes. Card 3 hands into this.
Write down the fear you are actually carrying — not the one that sounds acceptable. Then copy out the verse from Isaiah 40–43 that answers it, in full, in your own handwriting. Finish by naming one person who needs that same verse, and the day you will give it to them.