"'Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.'" Isaiah 41:10 NAS

In the last devotional we saw how fear can grip us when trials come. We always need to remember that our God and Father Jesus Christ is always with us. He will be with us till the end of the age (Matt 28:20). Today lets focus on where our source of strength comes from. When trials come upon us and come upon us they will; we need to immediately focus our eyes and attention on Christ. Sometimes we may feel like whatever it is that we are going through has blindsided us.

It may feel like we are instantly run over by an Amtrak train and left dismayed. Again here we are given another ‘Do not’ instruction. It is a good 'Do not' command for our own good during the tough times. "Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God..." The King James Version says, "be not dismayed; for I am thy God." Does life ever seem to leave you dismayed? Are you in a situation that has left you feeling like your looking around in a state of panic?

The word dismayed in Hebrew is sha` ah (shaw-aw') and means to gaze at or about (properly, for help); by implication, to inspect, consider, compassionate, be nonplussed (as looking around in amazement) or bewildered. The KJV usage is to depart, be dim, be dismayed, look (away), regard, have respect, spare or turn (1). Webster's New World dictionary says this about the word dismay, "To make discouraged at the prospect of trouble; daunt, loss of courage (2)."

When we take our eyes off the God of the universe who sustains us we end up in dismay. That is why here in this verse we are reminded that though the prospect of trouble may seem bleak or discouraging we always have hope. It is a constant hope. We have Jesus Christ always with us going through all that we go through. We have this wonderful verse in Romans 15:13, “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit (NAS).”

Our troubles may leave us in amazement and may wreck havoc on us, yet we always have the peace of Christ to carry us through. When we feel a loss of courage to face the future we must call upon the Lord. We must call upon that wonderful Name that gives us victory in a fallen world. Are you walking in that victory or in fearful dismay as a victim? At times it can feel like there may be no way out of your situation and the enemy of your soul wants you down trodden.

We need to reach for the weapon of our warfare and cling to the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (Eph 6:17). When we feel like we are in dismay and life has us disoriented then we ought to get alone with God and remember very simply that He is our God. He is for us and not against us. He will sustain us and get us on the right course. Too often we wallow in our problem instead of walking in the victory of the Cross of Christ. We lay in our sorrows instead of running the race. It may feel hard and we must know that satan does not want us to be victorious in this Christian walk.

He wants us to fail and crumble. God knows where you are and He knows what you and I go through before we cry before Him. He is our God, our all-knowing God who is on our side and has us close to His heart always. Be refreshed with that knowledge and fact. He loves you and right this very second is holding you close to His heart. Have a blessed weekend in His wonderful name, the name that is above every name.

Looking to Jesus,
Adam