Upholder

Isaiah 41: 13

“For I am the Lord your God, who upholds your right hand, who says to you, ‘Do not fear, I will help you.’

Fear is pervasive. There is no one who has not been stung by its tentacles. Still, Father says we do not have to live with fear, nor should we. Because He is our Lord and God, much less Father, we have a means to overcome fear. He has promised He will never leave us forsaken. He will not leave us to our own abilities. He is bigger than that which frightens us.

Imagine having the genie of Aladdin’s lamp as your friend and helper. If the genie said to you, “Do not fear, I will help you” would it give you confidence? I think it would. We have lived with these fantasy stories until we have an understanding of the genie’s power. It is an amazing phenomenon. There is no such thing as a unicorn but each of you just pictured one when you read the word.

Unfortunately, we do not know Yahweh Father as well as we do these fictional characters. Still, you can use your understanding of a genie to interpolate God’s power. Just picture, for a moment, what it would look like to have God following you around all day upholding your right hand. Every time you encounter an obstacle or fearful situation, He says to you, “Don’t worry. I am right here. I will help you.” Can you actually see that in your mind’s eye? It is a comforting image, is it not? Now, what if you held that image in your mind all day? What about every day? Would it grow your confidence?

Our Father is trying to move into our lives and become our best friend. He wants to be a constant help in our lives but it can be difficult for us to connect with Him. That is where we need to spend our energy, connecting with Him. Then He scares away the monsters in our lives and energizes us for the journey. The time we spend reading our Bible, praying and even just contemplating God, helps us to draw nearer to Him. Then, because we are in Him, there is no fear. There is faith and comfort.

Let your Dad scare away whatever is fearful. Let Him guide you through the valley of the shadow of death so that you arrive on the other side unharmed and unafraid.