“Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on to you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41.10).

Today, Christianity is falling out of favor at a rapid rate. Persecution intensifies. Believers face greater difficulty. A stand for Christ is beginning to cost something. Still, the LORD will support and comfort us with His presence. 

I would say that I have good reasons to be afraid. The enemies I face are daunting. The consequences of defeat are difficult to think about. I think deception is my greatest enemy. The world, the flesh, and the devil are in league to defeat by deceiving me. They work through false teaching and false movements …through false thinking. “They speak great swelling words of emptiness, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through lewdness, the ones who have actually escaped from those who live in error” (2 Peter 2.18). Let that sink in: The ones who have actually escaped are being allured through lewdness. Subtle. Terrifying. Beyond me.

I must realize that I am unable to move forward and please God without the Lord Jesus. I can’t think, say, or do anything good and eternally enduring unless God is working in and through me. It is God who works in me both to will and to do for His good pleasure. I am not competent in myself to claim anything as coming from myself, but my adequacy is from God’s work in me. If I was unable to hope in God, I would be lost in despair. 

I constantly think about my last day here. I think about eternity. When I am left to myself, it is fearful to contemplate. I know I am going to Heaven. But I struggle with an eternal quality of life in the present. This is where anxiety and fear wreak havoc in my life. 

Isaiah 41.10 reminds me of the promise that God is with me. I am not alone. I am at home with Him. Even the presence of another godly person helps me on my way. But nothing compares to a Spirit-enlightened understanding of God’s presence. He is indeed a very present help in my time of trouble. That’s why I am not afraid even though the earth be removed and the mountains crumble into the seas. God will help me. He is my refuge. 

He is my God and Father. I am His son. He shows up in all my difficulties and hinge-points in this present darkness. He pleads my cause. He rights my wrongs. If the enemies array themselves against me, He shows Himself strong on my behalf because I am leaning on His everlasting arms.

God pours courage into me. He strengthens, helps, and upholds me. Since He is for me, nothing and no one is able to stand against me. Even as my knees buckle and it all becomes too much, He holds on to me with His righteous right hand.