Devotion

There are times when the task before us seems overwhelming. There are times when the fear of inadequacy gets a grip on us and won’t let go. We look within for something, anything, that will propel us through the brick wall that we have come up against, but we find nothing. The ideas have dried up. The energy has evaporated. And the whole enterprise is in danger of coming to a screeching halt.

“Don’t be afraid,” Isaiah reassures. You are not alone. The Lord is there and has been there all along. We forgot about that for a while, but now He has reminded us of it. We need not be discouraged. We may not be able to find a way forward, but the Lord is with us, and He is God. Nothing is too hard for Him. He can make a way where there is no way. He can give us the idea that will make all the difference.

God can also strengthen us. The fear and the anxiety have sapped our strength, but the Lord can renew our strength. His encouragement lifts our spirits and revives our physical resources. What we thought was going to take forever now takes off, and the end is already in sight. With the help of the Lord, we can accomplish what seemed hopeless.

And God accompanies us to the finish line where He hoists us up above His head with His victorious right hand. Like an athlete who hoists up the hero of the game and carries him off the field, God will rejoice in our victory—the victory that He supplied.

Perhaps you had forgotten for a while that the Lord was with you. Now you have been reminded. Take heart today, for the way forward is about to be revealed.

Just so there’s no motivational speaking prosperity gospel Scripture twisting going on, here’s the full context of Isaiah 41:

8 But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend.

9 Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away.

10 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

11 Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish.

12 Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, even them that contended with thee: they that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought.

13 For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.

14 Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the Lord, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.

15 Behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth: thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff.

16 Thou shalt fan them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them: and thou shalt rejoice in the Lord, and shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel.