Strengthen, Help, Uphold

Photo by Nyehob 2016

During various trials I have experienced in the past year, including storms, illness and injury, God has spoken to my heart through Isaiah 41:10: 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.

It is amazing how often this verse, which was not particularly familiar to me before, has appeared so often recently, typically in clusters, as a sermon text, part of a daily devotional, verse of the day, or even a group email or Facebook post. These reminders of God’s faithfulness come at the darkest hour of the storm, just when I need them most.

It begins with the exhortation to fear not, which in various forms occurs in the Bible 365 times, one for each day of the year. Often it is God Himself or an angel sent by God who begins their message with this encouragement (Genesis 15:1; 21:17; 26:24; Luke 1:13, 30, etc.), for we are all sinners who have reason to fear God’s judgment (Romans 3:23; 6:23). Even in this evil world, we have many earthly reasons to fear, yet none at all, for our Lord Jesus Christ has won the victory over sin, death, the devil, and hell itself through His death, burial and resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:1-4, 57; Matthew 16:18).

If God is with us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31). No human, physical, demonic or other power or being can separate us from God’s love (Romans 8:35-39) or pluck us from the hand of Jesus, which is held tight in the hand of the Father (John 10:28-29) and sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise (Ephesians 1:13; 4:30). We need not fear, for He is with us, and He will never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).

No matter how desperate, discouraging, or diabolical circumstances may seem, we are not to be dismayed, for He is our God, our Abba Father through adoption (Romans 8:15) once we are born again (John 3:3-8). Jesus Christ is also our Lord, Master (John 13:13), Savior (Isaiah 43:3, 11; Luke 2:11), Bridegroom (Matthew 25; Mark 2:19), Advocate (1 John 2:1), and High Priest (Hebrews 4:14-16), and the Holy Spirit is our Comforter, Guide and Teacher (John 14:16, 26; 15:26). With such all-powerful connections, what reason can we possibly have to be dismayed?

As the apostle Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 4:8 We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 9 Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; 10 Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.  

In other words, we can be reassured as we endure trials that our body, soul and spirit are mirroring the suffering, betrayal and even death of Jesus, Who endured all these for our sake, that we may experience eternal life through Him.

In troubling situations, we need not fear, for He is with us, He is our God, and He will strengthen us. God is all-powerful (Revelation 4:8), and we cannot even take our next breath unless He wills it (John 15:5), yet His strength is made perfect in our weakness. When we are weak, we are therefore strong, giving us reason to glory in our frailties and afflictions, for He will be glorified by empowering us (2 Corinthians 12:9).

But He does not strengthen us so that we can go it alone, for He promises to help us! It reminds me of an experience I had during my second week as a medical intern. Exhausted, sleep-deprived, and challenged beyond my abilities, knowledge and experience at that time, I was in the last hours of night call when two critically ill patients were admitted to my service and two others developed life-threatening emergencies.

I knew I couldn’t begin to handle these challenges on my own and felt overwhelmed and ready to give up, when suddenly the chief resident appeared. Normally the chief resident on call, who was responsible for all the medical wards, would merely stop by to offer a few quick words of advice, but this extremely knowledgeable, capable, and experienced physician stayed with me until all the problems were under control, not only giving counsel but pitching in with blood drawing, spinal taps and other needed procedures.

And he did it all with kindness, compassion, and grace, never once making me feel inadequate or lording his authority over me, actually taking the time for some encouraging words and even a cup of coffee! So if my spirits could be lifted immensely by the help of one in authority, how can I not be encouraged by the help of God Almighty, Who has all power, resources (Psalm 50:10) and wisdom (Psalm 139:6) to achieve the best outcome? 

He loves me infinitely (1 John 4:8; John 3:16) and will provide for my needs before I even ask Him (Matthew 6:8).

Not only does God promise to strengthen and help His children, but He has promised to uphold us! Others may criticize, attack and condemn us, but God will uphold us with the right hand of His righteousness! Although I have sinned, and some of the trials I face may be consequences of or chastisement for my sins (Hebrews 12:5-9), God no longer remembers or sees my sin (Psalm 103:12). Instead, He sees me as clothed in the robe of righteousness imparted by His Son (Isaiah 61:10), Who knew no sin (2 Corinthians 5:21).

The morning after the night on call described above, the attending physician questioned medical decisions I had made and possible errors of omission. To my surprise and gratitude, the chief resident who had rescued me and the patients under my care took full responsibility for all that had been done and left undone, even though he could have easily and justifiably blamed me.

On a much grander scale, Jesus Christ, Son of God, the sacrificial Lamb (John 1:29) Who knew no sin, took upon Himself the burden of all our sins, past, present and future, and paid for those sins with every drop of His shed blood, so that sinful man could be reconciled to Holy God (Romans 3:25). Now we can stand without shame In God’s holy presence, for He Himself upholds us with the right hand of His righteousness!

Praise God that we have no reason for fear or dismay, for our Savior is with us and strengthens, helps, and upholds us with the right hand of His righteousness! 

© 2018 Laurie Collett

 

Man Down!

In this dream, I am returning to my hotel room in a strange city at night. The only way I know how to get there is to take a narrow side street, but it is barricaded. Afraid I will get lost if I don’t go this way, I cautiously slip under the barricade and instantly regret it.

In the middle of the street is an open manhole, surrounded by a circle of firemen in fluorescent yellow and orange coats, each lying prostrate with his head facing and eyes peering into the manhole. A little girl stands outside the circle, clutching a small, gray mutt in her arms and yelling excitedly, over and over, “Daddy saved Scruffy!”

Her mother, huddled over her, is sobbing uncontrollably. The awful realization hits me that the mutt ran into the open manhole; and the father risked his life to deliver him, but now could not himself escape. Even worse, apparently he was tangled in some electrical wires, and if the firemen could not extricate him or if they crossed wires in the attempt, he would be electrocuted instantly or set on fire in an explosion.

Some of the wires they had partially freed were now stretched out of the manhole and into the street. To my horror, I realized that I had disturbed these by wandering too close to the scene and that I had endangered the man’s life even further.

I awoke in a cold sweat and began to think about the symbolism of the dream regarding the Gospel, and our reaction to it. God sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to pay for our sins, so that anyone who trusts in His death, burial and resurrection will have eternal life (John 3:16; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4). He died for all (1 Corinthians 15:3), and He offers His freely given gift of salvation to all (Romans 10:13; Revelation 22:17). 

But some people are like the dog in the dream – oblivious to their own transgressions, and to what He has done to save them and what it means to them. They don’t know they will spend eternity in hell unless they trust Christ (Mark 9:45; John 3:18), so they have no reason to appreciate His sacrifice. And yet, ignorance is no excuse (Romans 1:20).

Some are like the little girl, happy to have her pet safe and sound but unaware that her father’s life was still in danger. Some Christians get excited about receiving God’s blessings but have little love for others who are not yet delivered from the pit of hell (John 13:3-8).

Like the wife weeping for her husband, who could die at any moment, some who are born again (John 3:3-35; 15:17) do earnestly grieve for their loved ones in danger of eternal damnation (2 Corinthians 7:10). Sadly, they are so consumed by this fear (Philippians 4:6) that they are ineffective in leading them to the Lord by witness, prayer, love, and showing a strong testimony of faith (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 1:8; Colossians 4:12 James 5:16,20; 1 Peter 4:8).

Looking at my own role in the dream, I was in a strange city at night, symbolizing our earthly journey as we pass through this dark, foreign country until He takes us safely home (Hebrews 11:13). I knew there was only one way I could go to reach safety. He is the only Way to salvation (John 14:6), which can be entered only through the narrow gate (in the dream, squeezing under the barricade; Matthew 7:13).

But once there, I failed to help anyone who was in danger. In fact, I made the situation worse by tangling the wires that the firefighters had worked so hard to make straight (Isaiah 42:16). It saddens me to think how many times I inadvertently was a stumbling block, getting in the way of someone being saved, whether through careless words or behavior that is not Christ-like (Romans 14:13; 1 Corinthians 8:9). 

I wonder how many times evangelical missionaries lay the groundwork for salvation in their preaching to the lost, only to have an uncaring believer disrupt it by an offhand remark or an unloving attitude.

The firefighters in the dream represent those Christians who are on fire for the Lord (Luke 24:32), doing all they can through His power (Philippians 4:13) to rescue souls from the flames of hell. The firemen worked together (Acts 2:44-47), as a formation team positioned around the chasm of hell, to deliver the endangered soul. 

Yet so often Christians allow Satan to divide and conquer them (Proverbs 6:16-19), dissipating their collective power, rather than being like a building fitly framed together (Ephesians 2:19-22) so that the gates of hell cannot prevail against the church (Matthew 16:18).

Each of the firemen was face to the ground, symbolizing fervent prayer (James 5:16), which is essential if the church is to win souls to Christ. Each was fully suited up in his protective uniform, just as Christians should put on the whole armor of God daily (Ephesians 6:11-13) before they attempt soul-winning or even getting out of bed! And each of them was highly focused on the task at hand, letting God work through them rather than being distracted by the commotion and chaos all around them (Hebrews 12:1).

Ultimately, it is Christ Who alone has accomplished all that is needed for our salvation through His shed blood, perfect and sinless sacrifice, and completed work on the cross (John 19:30; Romans 3:25; Hebrews 10:10-14). He rose from the dead to conquer sin, death, and the devil and to give those who trust Him eternal life (1 Corinthians 15:24-27, 53-57). Only the Holy Spirit can convict unsaved souls of their sin and need for a Savior and work in their hearts for them to be born again (1 Corinthians 3:6-7).

But, praise God, He has given His children the awesome privilege and responsibility of leading souls to Him through verbal witness, lifestyle testimony of loving behavior, prayer for others to be saved, and working together as the church to reach the unsaved and encourage one another in soul-winning in our local communities and across the globe.

May we daily thank Him for His freely given gift of salvation, guard our own words and lifestyle so as not to hinder anyone from being saved, keep our eyes fixed on Him, and work together as His body to increase His kingdom!

© 2015 Laurie Collett
Reposted from the archives