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Day 7 of 14

NIVUK

Isaiah 41:13

13For I am the Lord your God

who takes hold of your right hand

and says to you, Do not fear;

I will help you.

Reflection:  Do you know how often the Bible encourages us not to fear? You could read one encouragement such as this every day for a year – that is at least 365 times! Have you ever wondered why the authors of the Bible return to this theme so often? You might say ‘I’m not fearful’, but here are some other descriptive words that capture fear: terrified, scared, frightened, worried, anxious, panicked, alarmed, full of apprehension, full of dread.

I’m prone to being a worrier. An item on a news bulletin can set me off. Or a phone conversation with a family member or friend when they share a concern. I would probably get a degree for worrying if they were offered. There are, of course, times when our fears and concerns are reasonable and appropriate and move us to take action to protect ourselves and others. It would be foolish to respond otherwise. Such legitimate concern has been in play during the pandemic, while also providing opportunities for many of us to finely develop good habits of worry and fear and uncertainty.

I read this verse and am encouraged to rest in its truth. We have a deeply personal God who takes hold of our hand, just like a parent holds the tiny hand of their child as they walk to hold them steady. And this God, our God, our Father, says ‘Do not fear, I will help you’. The ESV translation uses even stronger language: ‘I am the one who helps you.’ Today, let me encourage you to think about his strong, warm, and gentle hand holding your hand as you walk through this day. In the midst of your fears, you are not alone – he is with you; he is close enough to hold your hand.

Prayer:  Our Father God, thank you that you love me enough to take hold of my hand to help me. I know this first-hand because you rescued me from darkness and brought me into light through the death of your precious Son Jesus. Help me to remember today that your hand won’t let me go – your hands are strong and gentle. Amen.

Isaiah 41:1-29

The helper of Israel

1‘Be silent before me, you islands!

Let the nations renew their strength!

Let them come forward and speak;

let us meet together at the place of judgment.

2‘Who has stirred up one from the east,

calling him in righteousness to his service?

He hands nations over to him

and subdues kings before him.

He turns them to dust with his sword,

to wind-blown chaff with his bow.

3He pursues them and moves on unscathed,

by a path his feet have not travelled before.

4Who has done this and carried it through,

calling forth the generations from the beginning?

I, the Lord – with the first of them

and with the last – I am he.’

5The islands have seen it and fear;

the ends of the earth tremble.

They approach and come forward;

6they help each other

and say to their companions, ‘Be strong!’

7The metalworker encourages the goldsmith,

and the one who smooths with the hammer

spurs on the one who strikes the anvil.

One says of the welding, ‘It is good.’

The other nails down the idol so that it will not topple.

8‘But you, Israel, my servant,

Jacob, whom I have chosen,

you descendants of Abraham my friend,

9I took you from the ends of the earth,

from its farthest corners I called you.

I said, “You are my servant”;

I have chosen you and have not rejected you.

10So do not fear, for I am with you;

do not be dismayed, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you and help you;

I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

11‘All who rage against you

will surely be ashamed and disgraced;

those who oppose you

will be as nothing and perish.

12Though you search for your enemies,

you will not find them.

Those who wage war against you

will be as nothing at all.

13For I am the Lord your God

who takes hold of your right hand

and says to you, Do not fear;

I will help you.

14Do not be afraid, you worm Jacob,

little Israel, do not fear,

for I myself will help you,’ declares the Lord,

your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.

15‘See, I will make you into a threshing-sledge,

new and sharp, with many teeth.

You will thresh the mountains and crush them,

and reduce the hills to chaff.

16You will winnow them, the wind will pick them up,

and a gale will blow them away.

But you will rejoice in the Lord

and glory in the Holy One of Israel.

17‘The poor and needy search for water,

but there is none;

their tongues are parched with thirst.

But I the Lord will answer them;

I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.

18I will make rivers flow on barren heights,

and springs within the valleys.

I will turn the desert into pools of water,

and the parched ground into springs.

19I will put in the desert

the cedar and the acacia, the myrtle and the olive.

I will set junipers in the wasteland,

the fir and the cypress together,

20so that people may see and know,

may consider and understand,

that the hand of the Lord has done this,

that the Holy One of Israel has created it.

21‘Present your case,’

says the Lord.

‘Set forth your arguments,’

says Jacob’s King.

22‘Tell us, you idols,

what is going to happen.

Tell us what the former things were,

so that we may consider them

and know their final outcome.

Or declare to us the things to come,

23tell us what the future holds,

so that we may know you are gods.

Do something, whether good or bad,

so that we will be dismayed and filled with fear.

24But you are less than nothing

and your works are utterly worthless;

whoever chooses you is detestable.

25‘I have stirred up one from the north, and he comes –

one from the rising sun who calls on my name.

He treads on rulers as if they were mortar,

as if he were a potter treading the clay.

26Who told of this from the beginning, so that we could know,

or beforehand, so that we could say, “He was right”?

No-one told of this,

no-one foretold it,

no-one heard any words from you.

27I was the first to tell Zion, “Look, here they are!”

I gave to Jerusalem a messenger of good news.

28I look but there is no-one –

no-one among the gods to give counsel,

no-one to give answer when I ask them.

29See, they are all false!

Their deeds amount to nothing;

their images are but wind and confusion.