When Mountains Fall and Rivers Rise

“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)

Are you afraid? Are the walls closing in, the roof caving in? Are you teetering over the edge of a cliff, hanging on by a slim root? Do you feel overwhelmed by the circumstances of your life and like you having nothing to hold onto?

God here reassures the spiritual heirs of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob, those of us who he has chosen from the every corner of the earth, that he is with us, that he cares about us and looking out for us. He asks us to trust him to be bigger than our enemies and all of our problems and hold onto the outstretched right hand he promises will be there for us to cling to even when our senses can perceive nothing there at all.

We can ask God for help and for strength with bold confidence, because he has already promised us he would do it, and God’s promises are always secure. He simply doesn’t work on our time table or do things our way. We often are looking too low, thinking too small. God often is way ahead of us, thinking bigger and grander, and the rewards down the road are often directly proportional to the amount of suffering we endure in the present–but we have to hold on and trustingly continue to love him to receive the good he has for us, especially if the particular payoff he envisions is intended to come in Heaven.

Lord, we thank you for your promises. We thank you for your steadfast love and the dependable strength of your arm. No problem we have is too big for you. Thank you for having everything under control even when we don’t. Increase our faith today. Strengthen our hearts to love and trust you more. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.