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“Do Not Fear, I Will Help You”

I’ve wanted to tell people on several occasions that everything would be okay. There have been times when I wish I could’ve given people assurances about the future, and to let them know that as dark as it seems right now things would work out. Don’t be afraid, it will be okay. As much as I wanted to say it, I knew that wasn’t an assurance I could give. Things happen in this life outside of our control. No matter how bad we want to say it, we know that life isn’t always alright. There is only One that can give those kinds of assurances, and He does to those who love Him.

In one particular passage, God gives His assurances over and over. “Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand… For I am the Lord your God, who upholds your right hand, Who says to you, ‘Do not fear, I will help you.’ Do not fear, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel; I will help you declares the Lord and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel” (Isa. 41:10, 13-14). This passage addresses several of our human concerns when we are in the grip of fear.

“Do not fear, for I am with you.” The presence of a capable confidant makes all the difference when fear has seeped into our hearts. Fear tries to isolate and keep us from the source of our greatest strength—the Lord our God and those that follow Him. The presence of the Almighty is something that can drive away fear.

“Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.” Anxiety and fear go together. The chest tightens, breathing becomes labored, and rational thought slips away when anxiety grips us. God has said the I AM will be with us. It was the I AM that spoke the world into existence and breathed life into man. He is the one that is with us and asks us not to fear.

“Do not fear, I will help you.” The presence of the Almighty I AM should help with the anxieties of fear, but He doesn’t stop there. There are things He will do to help us. He will strengthen us and provide that help of encouragement and fortitude that is found in confident trust. If we can learn to trust Him, then fear has no place in us. He will uphold us with His righteous right hand. It is significant that it is His “righteous right hand.” The right hand is the hand of power and dominance, to the defeating of our enemies. Righteousness is the idea that his judgment and actions for us or even against us will always be right. He will not arbitrarily pass any judgments.

Our God can make these assurances when man can’t. He knows what is best for us. We need to learn to trust Him.