Devotion Booklets for Seasons of the Church Year Lent 2018 | Page 9

God Will Uphold You
Monday, February 19th
Isaiah 41:10
What terrifies you? Job loss? Bad news from the doctor? Going to the dentist? Semester exams? The
prom? The future? What’s going on in the world around you right now?
When people or situations are threatening in some way, it makes sense that we feel afraid.
What doesn’t seem to make sense is that God would say, “Don’t fear. Don’t be anxious (dismayed).” If
all God said about fear and anxiety is, “Don’t feel this way!” that would be incredibly frustrating. When
we’re not able to control something to work it out like we want, such situations quite naturally make us
anxious and afraid.
Instead, God is asking us to consider: Why do these things fill you with fear? Each produces
uncertainty. Pain. Change. Risk. Possible failure or embarrassment. Defeat. The loss of control.
Now, if it was our responsibility to control life and all of its situations and circumstances, then we
should be anxious and afraid. But God reminds us here that he never delegated this responsibility to us.
Instead, what he reassures us of is that 1) he is always with us; and 2) he is God!
My daughter frequently sees things that terrify her as she tries to fall asleep at night. Many nights she’ll
scream out because she is afraid even though she knows what she is seeing can’t actually hurt her. To
help calm her, we say this verse from Isaiah together. Sometimes we say this verse together 2 or 3
times over the course of the evening as she tries to fall asleep. While the scary things make her anxious
and afraid, the comfort of God’s presence and the strength of God’s help always prevail!
When we are scared because things appear out of control, how comforting to be reminded that the One
who controls all things is always with us! When we feel powerless, how encouraging to hear God assure
that he will give us his strength for our situation. Whenever we feel like we’re falling as our world shifts
beneath our very feet, take heart for God promises, “I will uphold you!”
There is peace. Not because we have everything under our control. Peace comes as we see ourselves in
the hands of the One who has everything in his!
Prayer: Heavenly Father, rid me of my fears by remembering who you are and the promises you make
to me. When I am anxious, remind of your presence. When I am afraid, reassure me of your power.
When I am weak, fill me with your strength. When I feel the world is falling apart beneath me and
around me, help me see myself standing firmly on you. Amen.
Activity: Commit this verse to memory. Say it to aloud before you go to sleep. Speak it to yourself when
you’re feeling afraid because things are out of your control.
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