GOD HOLDS YOUR RIGHT HAND

“For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you ‘Fear not, I am the one who helps you.’“ Isaiah 41:13 (ESV).

God established the trustworthiness of His name. Like a loving father, he holds our dominant hand to remind us to trust Him, rely on Him, and in this position, we never have to fear: He is our help and strength.

We must learn to discern the voice of the Lord. I am so thankful for the Bible that gives us everything we will ever need to know about God. It would take an entire lifetime to understand the truths of this book, and even then, we still would not be able to uncover all of its mysteries. But the greatest mystery of all is the love that God has for us, His character and who He is, and attempting to understand perfect holiness and righteousness when we have never seen or experienced what that could possibly look like. Sin has so infected our hearts that we actually believe that we know what true justice is. The only problem is that our version usually serves us selfishly in one way or another.

God establishes His name when He says, “For I, the Lord your God.” He is reminding us of who He is and what is possible. God holds our right hand, implying that He has our dominant hand to give us strength, guidance and help and remind us that we cannot accomplish the same on our own. Like a loving Father holds the hand of a child and leads them, so too our Loving Father holds our right hand and leads us. We are safe, protected and we will get to where we need to go if we hold fast to God’s hand and allow Him to lead us in our weakness.

He establishes His name before He reminds us to fear not. He reminds us that we do not have to fear because He is with us and will help us. Whenever I step out into a new place, face a giant, or step out to do something far beyond my own ability, I need the reassurance of help. The scariest place to be is by yourself when facing a giant beyond your strength. But the God of heaven and earth, the creator of all and the all-powerful one, says, I am holding your hand and leading you, and you don’t have to fear because I will help you. What a beautiful promise.

Now many of us have found ourselves in the midst of a battle or in front of a major obstacle, and we were alone, and no one helped us, no one intervened, and no one rescued us. Many of us have found ourselves in an absolute place of failure and defeat with no help in sight. Asking where are you, God? I am lost, alone and overtaken; where are you, God?

The children of Israel found themselves in this place over and over again. They found themselves in complete captivity, looking to everything else for help and trying to sprinkle God in too. Sometimes we start on a journey we were never meant to start, yet we expect God to meet us there and be our helper and strength. But in His great love and mercy, He gives us over to our desire: to the fruit of our hopes and dreams and the longing of our soul, only to find that if God is not occupying that space, we will be left looking for something else.

I am not saying it’s our fault when we are alone, but sometimes God allows us to have what we think we want to bring us back to Himself. He is not afraid of suffering, and because He knows all things and redeems all things, He knows that suffering is part of what produces character in us. We make choices, and others make choices for us, and both of these things have fruit. If you find yourself in defeat and alone, it might be time to surrender it all to God, who wants to do this life with you.

In the very next verse, in Isaiah 41:14, he says, “fear not Jacob, you worm, I am the one that helps you, your redeemer.” You see, nothing is lost. So if you are feeling lower than a worm, God is still your help and redeemer. Will you let Him have His way?

PRAYER

Lord, I pray that I would always see that I am the worm, that even when things are going well or going horrible, I am the worm, and you are my rescue. Lord, help me to see this, not from a place of low self-esteem that makes me dwell on my unworthiness but simply in a place of recognition of my position next to a holy righteous God. Lord, I want to fear your name, Lord I want to see my place next to your perfection, but I want to receive your rescue. If I allow my low self-esteem to make me unqualified for your help, then I am still stuck in self-focused thinking. Lord, help me fear you but recognize your help and be humble enough to receive it. Lord, forgive me for my own self-sufficient ways. I want to walk holding your hand, letting you lead me where you want me to go.

Your Turn! Share your thoughts in the comments below. Thank you!