According to a popular Bible app, the most highlighted, bookmarked, and shared verse in the Bible for the past three years is Isaiah 41:10.¹ In context, it reads:

But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, you descendants of Abraham my friend, I took you from the ends of the earth, from its farthest corners I called you. I said, “You are my servant”; I have chosen you and have not rejected you. So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Isaiah 41:8–10

While God spoke these words to Israel, these well-loved verse contains so many promises that we can apply because we, like the Israelites, are poor and needy (41:17) and feeble as grass (40:7), yet also chosen and called (1 Pet 2:9) and not rejected (Jn 6:37). The Holy One of Israel is also our God and our Redeemer (41:13–14).

God, through Isaiah, begins with his most frequent command: Don’t be afraid! Then he adds Do not be dismayed. This Hebrew word means “to gaze about in anxiety.”²

What are you afraid of today? What do you have your eyes on that causes you anxiety?

God gives us an antidote—his presence. So often these two phrases appear together in Scripture. God is with us, he will help us, he will strengthen us, he will uphold us. That means he will make us firm and bold, he will give aid and support.

How will he help and uphold us? With his righteous right hand. Throughout scripture, God’s right hand is a symbol of strength and power and an instrument of deliverance and protection from enemies. But his power is also perfectly just and always does what is right.

With his strength and power, God will deliver and protect us from the evil one. He will do this justly and in ways that will bring glory to him. He will help us with his right right hand.

• For I am the LORD your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you. (Is 41:13)
• Do not be afraid, you worm Jacob, little Israel, do not fear, for I myself will help you,” declares the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. (Is 41:14)
• But now, this is what the LORD says—he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. (Is 43:1)
• Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west. (Is 43:5)
• I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles. (Is 42:6)
• My own hand laid the foundations of the earth, and my right hand spread out the heavens; when I summon them, they all stand together. (Is 48:13)
• Your right hand, LORD, was majestic in power. Your right hand, LORD, shattered the enemy. (Ex 15:6)
• Like your name, O God, your praise reaches to the ends of the earth; your right hand is filled with righteousness. (Ps 48:10)
• Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. (Ps 73:23)
• You make your saving help my shield, and your right hand sustains me; your help has made me great. (Ps 18:35)
• If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. (Ps 139:9-10)

Twenty years ago, my husband and I stood at a crossroads. At that time we served as global workers in Indonesia on a church planting team. We loved our colleagues and our lifestyle on a gorgeous tropical island. But my husband struggled with his role and his gifting and didn’t feel fitted for the task. We took a year assignment in the US and asked God for direction. Separately, in our own private prayer times, we both discovered Isaiah 41:9:

I have called you back from the ends of the earth, saying, “You are my servant.”

Isaiah 41:9 NLT

Consequently, we left our island home and ministry and returned to our passport country to retool and seek God’s new assignment for us. We were afraid but he he sustained us, helped us, calmed our fears, and upheld us.

In the same way, God will help and uphold me as I face my fears of growing older and adjusting to the changes that will come in this new year.

What are you anxiously gazing at around you? Trust his presence and his righteous right hand.

PRAYER

My Redeemer, I am afraid and I tend to cast my eyes on other things that cause anxiety. I deliberately place my eyes on you, my God. I remind myself I am chosen and called and dearly loved by you. And you are constantly with me. Your presence and your right hand of power and righteousness sustain and uphold me. Keep me walking in your strength.

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¹ https://thebaptistpaper.org/2023-verse-of-year-again-for-popular-bible-app-confronts-fear/

² “H8159 – šāʿâ – Strong’s Hebrew Lexicon (kjv).” Blue Letter Bible. Accessed 2 Feb, 2024. https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h8159/kjv/wlc/0-1/

All scripture is from the New International Version unless otherwise noted with emphasis added.