“Promise of God’s Presence”
Isaiah 41:10
“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”
God tells us what not to do – don’t fear or be dismayed and then He tells us why – because He is with us and because He is our God. And then He tells us what He will do – God will strengthen, help, and uphold us.
The word fear initially meant “flight” or “fleeing.” Instead of fleeing from our fears, Isaiah gives us some facets of God’s presence to help us face our fears.
I. God is present
Notice that it doesn’t say God was with me, or that He might be with me but that He is with me: “Fear not, for I am with you…” This can be translated as, “There is nothing to fear because I am with you.” This is repeated two more times in verses 13-14. It’s been said that the phrase, “Fear not” or “Be not afraid” is found 365 times in the Bible, one for each day of the year.
Friend, in order to face your fears, the first thing to remember is that if you’re saved, God is always present with you. Psalm 23:4 says, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me…” Remember this truth and declare it out loud: I will have no fear because He is here!
Check out the next phrase: “Be not dismayed, for I am your God…” To be dismayed means to be broken and filled with fear. It literally means, “To look around anxiously as one does in a state of alarm.” Would you notice that the key to not being dismayed is to make sure that He is your God personally?
Is He your God? This promise becomes activated when you personalize your relationship with Him by trusting in Jesus. Can you say, “He is my God today?”
II. God is powerful
Look at the next phrase: “I will strengthen you…” To strengthen means to become “bold, courageous and to conquer.” I love what Corrie ten Boom once said: “In times of fear I don’t wrestle, I nestle.” Psalm 29:11: “The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace.”
Do you feel weak and worthless? Have you been battered and thrown around by the storms of life? Has sin scared you? When you’re hurting, He’s ready to help. He will not break you or snuff you out. Because He’s powerful, He will strengthen you.
III. God is practical
Look at this phrase, “Yes, I will help you.” God will never “unfriend” us when we do something stupid or when we sin or when we’re stressed out but instead, He promises to help us.
In what ways do you need God’s help right now? He will help in a very practical way. I love Jehoshaphat’s prayer in 2 Chronicles 20:12: “For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.”
The word “uphold” in this passage means to hold up or grasp, to support. The idea is similar to the word undergird which means to make secure underneath. We are upheld by His “righteous right hand.” The right hand in the Bible is the hand of promise, symbolic of the best and the strongest (that’s not a diss on those who are left-handed).
Do you feel like you’ve failed? Do you wonder why you fall so many times? Hold on to the truth that He upholds you when you feel like you’re barely holding on. Psalm 145:13-14: “The Lord is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made. The Lord upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down.” He helps us and He holds us when we’re shaking like a leaf.
I want to point out something else from this passage. Three different times God says, “I will…”
- I will strengthen you
- Yes, I will help you.
- I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Friends, when God says it; that settles it. There’s no if or maybe or might. He will. The Lord will never leave those who belong to Him. Because God is here, we should have no fear. He is there. He is here. He is everywhere.
I love how John Piper restates these promises using five different prepositions…
- I am your God – over you.
- I am with you – by your side.
- I will strengthen you – from inside of you.
- I will help you – all around you.
- I will uphold you – from underneath you.
God is over you, by you, inside you, around you, and underneath you. Even when a train is about to tip over on you. Amen!
Pastor John Punni, II