"'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

Here again we are looking at an amazing verse to fill us with a constant reminder of God's grace upon our lives. In the last couple of devotionals we were reminded that we do not need to fear when trials come and that we do not need to become dismayed by them for we have a God who is in control and ready at hand to come to our aid. We have been given two "Do not's" for our own good. Then comes the reason's we need not fear or be dismayed.

The first one was of course the most important. That is the knowing where our source of strength is. Who is the power company of our souls? It is He who is our God. Really that is all He has to say. "Enough said", so to speak. Here though He gives us further encouragement. It says, "I will strengthen you, surely I will help you." Life can drain every ounce of strength we have can't it? It can leave us weak and broken. Have you ever seen what happens when something is left in the hot desert sun for a long period of time?

The heat of the desert sun will cause things to be faded in color, dried out, weakened, cracked, brittle and broken. Then when stepped on they simply crush underfoot. At least that is what happens when the kid’s toys are left outside in the backyard and we certainly live in the hot Arizona desert. This is what happens to us when the desert heat of life scorches down on us. The enemy wants to get us brittle, cracked and broken so he can try to crush us.

The Lord gives us an awesome reminder here: He will strengthen us. He is our ever-abiding strength. It is both a physical strength and a mental strength. The Hebrew word here for strengthen is 'amats (aw-mats') and means to be alert, physically (on foot) or mentally (in courage). The KJV usage is to confirm, be courageous (of good courage, steadfastly minded, strong, stronger), establish, fortify, harden, increase, prevail, strengthen (self), or make strong (obstinate, speed) (1).

There are indeed times when we may feel physically drained and other times when we may feel mentally drained. Trials have a way of making us feel mentally drained, physically drained and fearful all at the same time. We may feel like we are in the desert sun getting scorched. Trials may fade our color a bit. When you come across people you know do their faces ever look color faded by discouragement?

Like sun scorched plastic, trials can fade the color of joy in our expressions. We need to be revived by the Holy Spirit's joy. We need Him to surround us with His presence. This is exactly what the second part of the phrase means. It says, "surely I will help you..." The Hebrew word for help is `azar (aw-zar') and means to surround, i.e. protect or aid (2)." That is exactly what the Lord does for us. He covers us, surrounds us and protects us during the tough times.

He comes to our aid when we call upon Him. Let us not be prideful and try to do it on our own otherwise we will we get scorched, brittle and broken. We need to always remember that the Lord is our help and strength and all we need to do is call upon His wonderful name. Walk in the Son who provides shelter when life gets hot and uncomfortable. Be surrounded by His promise to help you. Cling to Him to make you strong and of good courage. Blessing’s to you in His name!

Walking in Grace,
Adam

Notes:
[1] Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary (OT:553). Copyright (c) 1994, Biblesoft and International Bible Translators, Inc.
[2] Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary (OT:5826). Copyright (c) 1994, Biblesoft and International Bible Translators, Inc.