They were so courageous in the face of such hostility from the religious authorities. Take for example the apostles of the Lord. He makes us courageous in those situations. In other words, He gives us the strength to face up to the battles we will face. When God strengthens us, He makes us courageous. The word here strengthen basically means to be courageous (of good courage, steadfastly minded, strong, stronger), and also to make strong. Because He is our God, we do not need to look anxiously about all that is happening but can rest in the confidence that God is in control, and is watching over us. God’s promise gives us a reason not to look anxiously around us, which is very easy to do in this current crisis.
But it also applies to us as believers in Christ – “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” (Ephesians 2:13)īecause He is our God, we should keep our eyes fixed on Him. This applies first to Israel, whom God called out of the other nations. In verses 8-9 of Isaiah 41, we read that God calls His people, His servant, His chosen ones, He has called them from the furthest parts of the earth. God relates to His people in a most special way. The second wonderful promise of Isaiah 41:10 is “be not dismayed for I am your God,” or as another translation states “Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.” God is with us, despite difficult circumstances, He is with us through the fierce storms of life, He is with us through the testing fire, He is with us when things are going well for us, He is with us when things are tough. We are rather, talking about the fact God is with us personally – not only that He can see us, but that He is on our side. Psalm 139:7-12).īut when we talk about God’s promise “I am with you” we are not talking about the general sense of Him being present everywhere. They can’t do things in the dark and not be seen by Him who sees everything everywhere (Psalm 33:13-14. The Bible talks about the fact that the presence of God is everywhere in a general sense. There is no place on this earth where God cannot be with us. He is with us as we worship Him, He is with us and watches over us when we go to sleep, He is with us whether we are working, witnessing, servicing, or even if we end up at a doctor or a hospital. We are never alone because God is always with us. In Hebrews, we read “He will never leave you nor forsake you.” Jesus said “…for I am with you until the end of the age”, He also said “I will not leave you as orphans, but I will come to you”, Paul wrote, “if God is for us, who can be against us?”. The first promise is about God’s presence “Do not fear, for I am with you.” There are several verses in the Bible that remind us that God has promised to be with us.
We need these promises because we can become fearful of things happening around us, we could be fearful of things which are yet to happen, but these promises from God will give us the confidence to overcome any fear. This is because, through the glorious work of Christ, we are “no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God” (Ephesians 2:19). These promises were first delivered to God’s people, Israel, and now we too are the beneficiaries of these promises.
They are promises which will equip us for any battle or difficult storm. These are words which inspire confidence and faith in the mighty God whom we serve. Isaiah 41:10 will remind you of five promises God has made which can give you the confidence that you do not need to fear: “I am with you”, “I am your God”, “I will help you”, “I will strengthen you”, “I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” “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.” – Isaiah 41:10 Knowing and trusting in these promises will help us through all the storms that come in our lives, including the COVID-19 crisis we currently find ourselves in. It includes five precious promises from God. Isaiah 41:10 is one of my favourite bible verses and one I highly recommend you memorise.
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