A Closer Walk
People are sometimes fearful of future events; what might happen the next day or the next week, or even the next month or the next year. But should we be fearful of the future? "Fear thou not; For I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea I will help thee; yea I will uphold thee with the right hand of My righteousness," Isaiah 41:10 KJV.
Fear can be a debilitating emotion. Ever heard the expression, "Paralyzed with fear"? Fear can cause us to hesitate; to hold back. It can cause us to be afraid to do anything. But should children of the Lord God Almighty be that way? While caution can be wise and keep us out of bad situations, fear is not something that should control us. Hiding under the bed all day long is not a good way to approach life. What does our Lord tell us about fear? "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind," 2 Timothy 1:7 KJV. So fear does not come from God. In fact, He has given us a spirit of power and of love and of a sound mind. Caution and prudence are wise courses of action. But we shouldn't be paralyzed with fear, or by fear.
Our God instructs us to fear not. Because He is with us. Nor should we be dismayed. Because He is God. "I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside me...That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the Lord and there is none else," Isaiah 45:5-6 KJV. This passage in Isaiah 45 is addressed specifically to Cyrus, King of Persia. Interestingly, it was written 200 years before Cyrus, King of Persia, was even born. Nevertheless, there are lessons for you and me in the entire 45th chapter; as there are in the 41st chapter quoted above.
The Lord our God tells us He will strengthen us. We may feel that within ourselves we do not possess the strength to overcome whatever adversity we may be facing. But you know someone once said, "If you are going through hell, don't stop!" When we are "walking through the valley of the shadow of death," that is not a place where we would want to stop and have a picnic or smell the roses. It is a place to keep moving; maybe even double time it. Our God tells us He will provide the strength we need to get through the adversity.
He will help us. That may include fellow believers coming alongside to hold our hand or help us along. A recent example of this was people who were required to quarantine because of Covid. In our case, during our own quarantine, brothers and sisters in Christ brought daily meals for us when we could not leave the house. Much appreciated! Others ran to the grocery store and even picked up prescriptions. Also much appreciated. What a blessing that was and how wonderful it was to be ministered to like that.
Our God also tells us He will uphold us with His right hand of righteousness. "He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings," Psalm 40:2 KJV. He sets our feet upon a rock and He establishes our goings. A rock being hard and a firm and stable footing upon which to step and to walk. Then He also establishes our goings. Pointing us in the right direction and keeping us on the straight and narrow.
"Fear thou not, For I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea I will help thee; yea I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness."
"Rock of ages, cleft for me, Let me hide myself in Thee, Let the water and the blood, From thy wounded side which flowed, be of sin the double cure, save from wrath and make me pure. While I draw this fleeting breath, When my eyes shall close in death, When I rise to worlds unknown, And behold Thee on Thy throne, Rock of ages, cleft for me, Let me hide myself in Thee." First and fourth stanzas, "Rock of ages," by Augustus M. Toplady, 1740-1778