- 75. Hold Your Hand
Isaiah 41:13 For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.
We may think that we are so self-sufficient that we don’t need anyone to hold my hand while going through a difficult period, but we are mistaken. Our own sin has made us weak and powerless to stand up against the Evil that is against us. But if God is for us who can be against us? That’s a rhetorical question: of course, we know the answer. God promises to hold our hand. The only question remaining: Do I want God to hold my hand? Will I let Him help?
At many crucial junctures in Scripture where a man is in difficult straits as he meets a manifestation of God, the world comes from the Lord or from Jesus: “Fear not.” These are powerful words and strong encouragements. The shepherds were suddenly surrounded by many angels and the glory of God, and they were told, “Fear not, I bring you good tidings of great joy.” Jesus appeared walking on the water, and said, “Fear not, it is I.” There are dozens of other examples of encounters with God in some way, and the next words from God are words of love and comfort and gospel. It turns out that the fearsome God loves you.
“Do not be afraid; do not panic; do not worry; be anxious for nothing.” Jesus is here to hold your hand; He will help you. He comes next to you to give, aid, comfort, help, and strength. That’s His promise: I will help you. We do not need to be so proud or ashamed to take hold of the outstretched hand. When we are sinking in the water we can, like Peter, take hold of the hand of Jesus reaching out for us. Jesus promises to be there, to hold your hand and to help.