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"
(Isaiah 41:10).
"Fear not," God says to us. And yet we fear.
"Be not dismayed." And yet we worry and become anxious over many things. God
continually tells us "I am with you," yet we continue to become panic stricken
by the cares of this life, not realizing just how close He really is. Our eyes are so
often on our problems that surround us that we cannot see the God who remains with us.
God is near. So why do we act like He is far off? Is it because our problems are so
overwhelming that they keep us from seeing God through them? They press in on every side
and as we give them more and more attention, we give them more and more power. We
eventually give them more power in our lives than God as we let them control what we think
and what we think we must do.
Perhaps the reason God seems so far off is because I have wandered. Maybe I have gotten my
eyes off of Him by putting them on all the wonderful things I want out of life. But as I
move away from the Light of God to chase after the world I am only filled with darkness,
and cannot see because I must have light to see. "If then the light within you is
darkness, how great is that darkness! (Mt.6:25).
God is near. But if I am blinded by my problems or selfish wants, how shall I see Him? And
if I cannot see Him, how can I bring myself to trust Him? And if I cannot bring myself to
trust Him, how shall I learn to depend on Him when I am surrounded by trouble, or burdened
by the cares of this life? How will I learn to have peace when the budget is tight, the
job insecure, the relationships weak or when my day to day becomes a tedious "daily
grind?"
The daily grind can and does get to most of us. Yet, God has something to say to us about
that. He says, "Do you feel weak? I will strengthen you. Do you need assistance? I'll
be there--I will help you. Are you weary and feel like you cannot take another step? I
will hold you up." These are not simply words but they are the promises from God.
Would God lie to you? Of course not. Do you think He is talking to everyone but you? Of
course He is talking to you--He is talking to all of us. We just simply have to believe
that what He said He will do, He will do. Not because of your faith--but because of His
faithfulness. He is faithful to His word even when we are faithless.
What is holding you back? Are your eyes glued on the problems or perhaps on what you want?
"Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you" (James 4:8). "Delight
thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart" (Psalms
37:4). ". . .for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee"
(Hebrews 13:5). "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" (Isaiah 41:10).
But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew [their] strength; they shall mount up
with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; [and] they shall walk, and not
faint" (Isaiah 40:31)
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Upholding Faithfulness