Fear not for I am with you!
I was facing a lot of fear the other day because of some approaching deadlines that seemed impossible.
Not only did I have to make some tough decisions, but the time pressure was so great that I couldn’t put any thought into it. Normally, I like to spend some time balancing pros and cons, but in this case, I didn’t even know what the pros and cons were!
Fear and panic were about to set in as they often do during times of stress. I was facing a giant fork on an unknown road …
Scary scenario? For me it was, but I put away my disturbing thoughts long enough to read my Bible assignment for that day — which included Isaiah chapter 41.
Isaiah 41 to the Rescue!
What a wonderful chapter for anybody who is facing fear and panic! Here is Isaiah 41:10.
Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God:
I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee;
Yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
I’m quoting from the King James Version, because I am in a King James sort of mood today. I often turn to King James when something deeply touches my heart. Here it is in the New King James Version:
Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you,
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’
In this passage the Lord tells us not to be afraid or dismayed, and He gives four reasons why we don’t need to panic. First, He is our God. And He will:
- strengthen us
- help us
- hold us up with His righteous right hand.
Of the four reasons, the one that spoke to me the most was the part about Jesus holding me up with His right hand. At first, I envisioned Him carrying me. I would love that, but that’s not what the passage says.
It says He will hold me up with His righteous right hand. Next I envisioned the Lord standing next to me and extending his right hand. I felt like I was falling, so I grabbed onto His hand for dear life.
God is Always Holding Us Up
There! I feel steady now. I won’t stumble or fall because He is holding me up.
What an amazing and encouraging truth! He is always there, always holding us up. When we are hanging on to His Righteous right hand, we cannot fall, and we cannot take a wrong turn in the road.
We still facing deadlines and difficult life decisions, but when the fork in the unknown road comes, we can be determined to be hanging on to His righteous right hand.