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Because I Am Your God And Because I Am With You by Pastor Kevin Feder

By Anonymous
Isaiah 41:10…Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. 

     Isaiah 41:10 presents the most common one-two punch in the Bible. Don’t Fear. This is the most common command in Scripture. In God’s love letter to us, if we can call it that, the thing he repeats the most is the command to not fear. The second part of it is the rationale for why we shouldn’t fear: God is with us. I am so glad God communicates with his people in this way, aren’t you? He could just command us not to fear. He does more. God also tells us how we could possibly have success in not fearing: knowing that God is with us. Actually, I should say it this way: believing that God is with us. 
     This invites us to get real about our fears and our faith. In fact, if you like to read between the lines you will come to see that the Bible diagnoses something important about the human heart in this passage. What does it diagnose? It tells me that the most common struggle that I have is related to fear. This is why it is the most common command. And fear, my most common problem, is rooted in my most common doubt: is God with me? Is God for me? There you have it. The reason you must get real about your fears is because in doing so, you are getting real about your faith. At the core, your relationship to fear ultimately says something about what you think and believe about God. Do you really believe he is really for you?
     God reveals himself in this verse as the immanent (think intimate) God who comes close like a friend would come close. At the same time, he is the transcendent God who has the power to help you and uphold you with his righteous right hand. In Hebrew thought, the right hand refers to power and authority. To say “righteous right hand” is to say that God not only has transcendent power and authority to uphold your life, but he does so with righteous wisdom and motive. To be almighty is one thing. To be almighty and good is another. God is almighty, and he is good and those are two things this passage suggests that even God’s people really struggle to believe.
     Think about it. Examine yourself. Do you take your fears seriously? If not, it may be a way you are avoiding God in unbelief. Are you controlled more by what you fear than by the love of God? If so, it is entirely possible you are struggling to believe that God is with you, that he is for you, that he is powerful and that he is good. Certainly, in a fallen world there are plenty of reasons to be scared. At the same time, those in Christ have a Father who is powerful and good and present to help us every step of the way. May we move forward in the steady confidence that God is our God, he is with us and he is upholding us with his righteous right hand.

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