** Fear thou not; for I am with thee:…** Isaiah 41:10a
This may be one of the most popular and most quoted verses in the Bible. The Lord is speaking to His people, Israel, and gives them six different promises in this one verse. It is a verse of hope and encouragement to any one who has put their lives in God’s Hands.
If we look at these first few words of this verse, we see an amazing statement that each of us can cling to when life turns upside down. ** I am with thee **….I, GOD, am with you.
Let’s stop for a moment and really think about that.
God, the Creator of the universe, is with you and I–all the time!
He is with us on the good days and He is with us on the bad ones. He is with us when we wake up and He is there at our side all day long, and never leaves us as we sleep.
He is with us at work, He is with us at home, and He is with us throughout every task of every day.
He is in the hospital with us, and He is with us at the funeral home.
He is with us at the birth of a child and He is with us when they get married and they start their own family.
He is with us when we are strong and confident, and He is with us when we are fearful and have lost our peace and our courage.
The problem is never that He leaves us, it is always us leaving Him when trouble comes. Our fear, anxiety, or stress can put a barrier between us and our God. We waste time and energy focusing on the problem that is right in front of us instead of looking straight at the One who is right in front of us.
It’s the natural thing to do. But we should not be natural. We should be supernatural. We can be, if we keep our eyes on Him. Because ** with God, nothing shall be impossible **.
When fear overwhelms us because the problem before us is too big to see a way around it, we can close our eyes, quiet our hearts and see Him. We can remember this verse from Isaiah and so many others that remind us that He is still there with us.
Just remembering His name can boost our faith and calm our fear…
The GREAT I AM tells us that He is with us. The Eternal One. The Ever Existing One. The All Powerful. The All Knowing. The Ever Present One. The Lord who sees and provides for our needs. The Lord our Banner. The Lord our Peace. The Almighty Father. The Everlasting Father. The Prince of Peace. Wonderful. Counselor. Mighty God. Our Savior. The One who heals all diseases, and makes the lame to walk and the blind to see. The One who calms the raging sea and the torrential wind. The One who walks on water.
It is up to us to remember how big our God is. It is up to us to remember that He is not limited by human limitations. The universe bends to HIS will, not the other way around.
Today, if we lose our peace, let’s remember that He hasn’t lost His. He knows exactly how things are going to work out, and exactly what He is trying to teach us in the midst of our trouble. And He knows exactly how He is going to make it all work out for good.
Big problem or small one. It doesn’t matter. He can handle it. He may not rescue us from all of its pain, but He will work in each of us what we are lacking most through every trial. It could be that we lack…Peace, faith, courage, righteousness, joy, love, gentleness, meekness, or temperance. These are all manifestations of the Holy Spirit in us. It’s a long list. So, we can expect more trouble so that He can work more of Him into us and less of us in us.
When troubles come, keep your eyes on Him. Remember all that He can do and is doing in you. And that His love for you is perfect and complete. Rest in that knowledge and allow Him to fill your heart and mind with His peace.
Great message and how how true!
Yes, so true, and not so easy for us to be faithful with, Lorraine! But if we can just grasp that our problems are refining preparations for His will in us, we can rest sooner in the midst of them. His desire is that we would always bear more fruit of His Spirit in us. Fruit that draws others to Him, which you know all about! I’m praying for you and for your ministry. The Lord will use it to continue His work in you! Much love to you!!
Hallelujah!!