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Isaiah 8:12-13

¹²"Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. ¹³But the LORD of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.

I can't count all the conspiracies I have heard in my life, Luminata, grassy knoll, chemical contrails, aliens, and dozens more. Conspiracies excite the soul with what it believes to be knowledge the common person doesn't have. Sometimes conspiracies instill a fear that has no basis in fact. They can cause people to make unwise and rash decisions while distracting them from what is truly important. It is because the world only has hope in this life that they so fear its end.

What the world should fear is the LORD and His final judgment on each of us. That would cause us to consider our ways and turn us from evil. One in a thousand conspiracies may be based in some fact, but the final judgment is certain. The end of every life is certain. What will God say of your life?

While we who love Him are certain of His great love for us, we also dread His discipline in this life for our disobedience. Even the believers will stand before the judgment seat of God to give an account of their lives (Romans 14:10). Our fear of God is not regarding condemnation, but regarding what could have been had we fully obeyed. Isaiah is telling Israel and us that our focus should be on the holiness of God rather than the latest conspiracy. The people of the world fear conspiracies because their hope is in this life, while we fear God because our hope is in eternity.

Consider: The next time someone tells you of a conspiracy, consider sharing this verse with him or her.