Isaiah 41:10
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.
God’s promise to His people is the same today. We have His assurance of strength, help and protection. The people of Israel, in those days, were a privileged people, having this hope and assurance. Yet, at times, they felt weak, inadequate, insecure and insignificant – almost like a worm. God assures them again in Is. 41:13, 14; “For I, the LORD you God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, Fear not, I will help you. Fear not, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel! I will help you,” says the LORD and your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
Today, you and I are God’s special people; let me ask you, how are you feeling today? If you are feeling weak and helpless, I want to remind you of God’s assurance in these verses above. God is concerned about you-you are always in His visibility radar! He is ready to help you, uphold you and strengthen you. Do not be afraid.
A year is at end. You may have started this year 2010 with hope and expectation of good things from the Lord. Is there a unfulfilled need in your life now? Is there any lack in your life today? I tell you, that time is in His hands, and before this year ends, He is able to give you the help needed. As the author of Hebrews says in Hebrews 13:6 – So we may boldly say: “The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” The context of this verse is in the case of material lack… You can boldly, confidently say, ‘The Lord WILL help. I need not fear!’
There are different kinds of people in this world when we rate confidence; there are those who are self-confident-they who trust their own abilities, skill and acumen; then there those who are cowardly-who have no confidence in themselves or in others; but there is a third category of people who are God-confident – they do not trust in their own abilities, but trust in God who gave them those abilities; surely you will understand that we are called to be in this third category of people-people who are God-confident!
Do you know Him enough to trust Him? The author in Hebrews quoted from one of the Psalms. If you look at Psalm 118: 8, 9, it continues: It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.
Who do you look for in moment of need-people and friends, relatives or neighbors; or maybe some influential people (princes) you may know? They will all fail-sooner than later. There is someone better to put your confidence-the LORD Himself! Trust Him to do the needful in your life, at the right moment. Man may fail, but God never fails! Influential people will let you down, but God will never let you down! Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; But we will remember the name of the LORD our God. (Psalm 20: 7). Remember Him? Remember to trust Him.
Hope in God
The Psalmist had the habit of talking to His own soul. Maybe your distress is unseen and unimaginable to others. Talk to yourself. “Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance.” (Psalm 42:5). Hope in God and look forward to the praise… look ahead to the shout of joy in the morning!
Hope in God! Jesus promised ‘Lo, I am with you always’. His presence is with us. Yes, earlier there was a time when we lived as unbelievers-without hope; but now we have come to the fold of believers and under One Shepherd-Jesus the Lord. If He is with us, do we need someone (or something) else?
‘My hope is built on nothing less, than Jesus blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus’ name!’
If we read Exodus 33, Moses was given the option of being led by a mighty Angel to the Promised Land. God told Moses that He Himself will not go with him. But Moses was not satisfied; he pleads with God “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here…” (v15). God’s promise to Moses and to us remains the same: “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” (v14).
Our God is the LORD of Lords; and God among ‘gods’; the One Living God – able to hear us when we speak; and able to answer us. We do not serve deaf and dumb idols-that can neither hear nor speak. When God has promised His Presence, you can be sure it will suffice all your perceived and unperceived needs!
We are not without help-we have God’s help. Jesus in John 14 promised a Helper-the Holy Spirit saying “I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.” (John 14:18). The Helper- the Holy Spirit will teach us all things (John 14:26). Like in the court of law, even if you know the language of the proceedings, you will need someone to help you in choosing, using and understanding legal terms; In a similar manner, we need the Holy Spirit’s help in our need. And God-the Holy Spirit will help us.
Recognize Your Need
We have a small part to play in having God’s help. Firstly, we must recognize we need help! In the best-ever-sermon-ever-preached, Jesus started with “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matt. 5:3). Now, coming away from routine needs of the body and soul, let us come to the important need-spiritual need. Have you recognized that you are ‘poor’ in spirit? If you know you are poor, you are blessed-because yours is the kingdom of heaven! There is nothing to boast in our spirit-it is really poor / destitute and ‘below-the-poverty-line’-always in need of His Spirit. If you recognize this, you are on your way to blessedness!
Come to Him
Hebrews 4:16 “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
Whatever is your need, go to the right place-to the throne of grace. ‘Don’t run to the phone, run to the throne’! Do not think of who to call, where to run; first think of the heavenly throne. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in times of trouble. He is there-ever present; available always and just a call away! If you do not know what to pray, He is there again. Our God the Holy Spirit-our Helper in times of prayer need, to help us pray! Rom. 8:26 says, Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
In some difficult situations, what do we pray for? Take away this situation or give me grace to go through this-we really do not know what to pray. But we can learn from Jesus: Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? Father, save Me from this hour? But for this purpose I came to this hour. “Father, glorify Your name.” (John 12: 27, 28). Father glorify Your name!
Wait for strength
When we run to Him, and pray, we must also learn to wait in His presence! This, I feel, is one of the difficult tasks for many of us in this century. We want immediate results! But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:31)
You see, in waiting there is a wonderful exchange-new for old, strength for weakness, cheerfulness for weariness. We must wait for that to happen in us, just as the eagle waits and grows new feathers… One word from God-will heal us, will strengthen us, cleanse us, make us know the truth, and will empower us! As the seed of God’s word grows up with strength, we mount up and fly and are never weary, nor tired.
You are not alone-no, never alone. God cares for you and for me…do you care that God cares? Because if you do, you can come to Him, and wait on Him! He will give grace; He will give strength and will navigate you through the difficult paths till you find rest and you will never be the same again. Amen.
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