I hold you by your right hand – I, the LORD your God.
And I say to you, “Don’t be afraid, I am here to help you.”
Isaiah 41:13 (NLT)
One of my main responsibilities as a mother is to protect my children. When they were little, I did a lot of handholding; in parking lots, in crowded stores, on busy streets. I remember one particular incident when a car was backing out of a parking space. Either the driver wasn’t paying attention, or he didn’t see us. Either way, my son would have been badly hurt if I hadn’t been holding his hand and yanked him away from danger.
I am so thankful God does the same with us. Isaiah 41:13 tells us that God holds our right hand and whispers, “Don’t be afraid, I am here to help you.” God does not remove all the obstacles that might make us trip or stumble. He does not always carry us over the hard parts. But He does hold our hand so we will not be hurled headlong. Isaiah provides us with the image of God as a loving father, holding his child’s hand as he learns to walk. The toddler stumbles but his father doesn’t let go. Instead, he gently pulls the child upright, back on his feet, and they continue on together.
The greatness of God lies not only in the fact that He created a vast, infinite and complex universe, but in the truth that He watches over each one of His creations with the love of a father for his child. He doesn’t just watch us from afar but reaches down and gently wraps His nail-scarred hand around our own small, frail one so we won’t fall.
God says, “Don’t be afraid, I am here to help you.” Memorize this promise. Make it part of your daily walk with God. Claim it whenever your day goes south. Don’t worry about what is around the corner, your Abba is alongside you, ready to help.
Thought: “He has chosen not to heal me, but to hold me.” – Joni Eareckson Tada
For further reading:
- Psalm 32:8
- Psalm 33:18
- Psalm 37: 23-24
- Isaiah 41:10