Understanding “Fear Not”

So, last week was rough. How was yours? I find it strange how one minute you feel secure and the next, it’s as if your feet have been knocked out from under you. At least that’s how I felt. In the midst of the hard, though, came God’s assurance as I read from Isaiah 41. Verse 10 kept echoing in my mind: “fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” There are a lot of promises packed into that verse, and last week I depended on every single one of them! As I meditated on this verse last week, I began to unpack them slowly over the week.

The first part is “fear not, for I am with you.” Even though I felt as if I was in a constant war with the enemy (let’s face it, we all are in a spiritual battle, whether we choose to engage in it or not), I still felt God’s presence. This part of the verse also seemed like a command to fear not. He knew last week when He brought this verse to my mind that I usually tend to fear. He’s commanded me to fear not. It’s not an open-ended command, though. None of His commandments ever are. He’s telling me why I shouldn’t fear because He is with me! I don’t have to struggle with this situation on my own. I don’t have to fight alone, for He is with me. This part by itself was so very comforting to me.

The second part is “be not dismayed, for I am your God.” If I’m honest, I get dismayed from time to time, and this was one of those times. This part is another command, “Be not dismayed.” Again, not open-ended command, though. Why should I not be dismayed? He gives me the answer, “Because I am your God.” I then started thinking about just Who He has been in my life, and that encouraged me.

The third part is, “I will strengthen you.” Last week I also read Isaiah 58:11- “And the LORD will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong…” I believe that when He states that He will strengthen me that it means that He will strengthen my faith and strengthen me physically. We all know that when we go through a trial, it tends to make us tired and exhausted. I believe that He will strengthen us in every means possible for us to endure the trial.

The fourth part is, “I will help you.” Man, did I depend on this part this past week! I trusted that He would help because there was nothing else left for me to do. No one could fix the problem but Him. Sometimes that’s the whole point of the trial. When there’s nothing left to do, and there’s no one that can fix the problem, that’s when God works His biggest miracles! It’s no accident that we are placed in those types of circumstances either of God, Satan, or our own doing because that’s when God shows us just who He is. God won’t leave us to try to endure this life on our own. He’s always willing to help us, and if we ask, He will move mountains for us!

And the last part is, “I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” To me, this part was the promise that held the other components together. It was a promise that although my current situation was hard, even though I had prayed for it not to be, that God would allow me to be victorious through this struggle. It assured me once again that He would be faithful to me.

So, although last week was a spiritual battle, God gave me everything that I needed to fight and even to be encouraged because of that battle. He remained with me; He continued to be my God; He strengthened me; He helped me, and He upheld me with His righteous right hand. Yes, God continued to be faithful to me. He kept His promises to me once again.

I hope that if you are struggling this week that you will recall this verse and let God speak to you through the struggle. You don’t have to fight the battle alone. He is a faithful God, and He has a plan for you to prosper you and not harm you. So, lift your head and place your thoughts and trust in the One True God that can stand in the battle with you and uphold you with His victorious right hand.