“Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you, I will hold on to you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10 (CSB)
The Blessing of His Presence
This is the first post in my series on blessings. This summer, we are going to dive into how God blesses us and how we can cultivate lives that receive all the blessings He has in mind for us. What amazing things does our God have in store? How can we live lives that invite and walk into those blessings regularly?
We have to lay a foundation for those blessings, like tilling up the garden bed to get it ready to receive the seeds. We have to turn the soil of our thought patterns and habits. This allows us to see where we have become hard ground or allowed weeds to grow up and choke out His blessings.
Working, but not alone
But, we don’t have to work at it alone!
“Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you, I will hold on to you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10 (CSB)
God will be right there with us. AND, we are here for each other. A community of Christ-followers, ready to lift one another up.
Who is this God who will be with us?
“The Lord passed in front of him [Moses] and proclaimed: The Lord – the Lord is a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and abounding in faithful love and truth, maintaining faithful love to a thousand generations, forgiving iniquity, rebellion, and sin.” Exodus 34:6-7a (CSB)
“For nothing will be impossible with God.” Luke 1:37 (CSB)
Our is full of love and mercy. He is slow to anger. He forgives and forgives and forgives. And, nothing is impossible for Him. He can do the biggest impossible dream you can imagine. The highest hurdle, the largest obstacle can be overcome.
That is Who is with us and will never leave us.
The first blessing we need to grasp hold of is the blessing of His presence. Out of His presence flow all other blessings.
God’s promises
What does God say He will do?
1. “I will strengthen you.”
Ouch! When I read this, I thought about working out. When we want to gain strengthen, there is a process. We have to work those muscles, tearing them down and building them up. The strengthening process is uncomfortable and won’t feel like blessing at first. This is the time to trust and lean into God’s presence.
2. “I will help you.”
Whew! We need God’s help to stay on course when the strengthening storms come. God can use the bad things of a fallen world to benefit us and build our character if we will trust His plan and accept His help.
3. “I will hold on to you with my righteous right hand.”
I have a confession to make. I imagine God saying this with a surfer dude’s voice. “My righteous right hand, man!” It is funny to think about, but there is nothing funny about God holding us in His hand. He will not let go of us. He will never give up on us. With His hands that can hold the whole world, He is holding you and me.
My job
What is my responsibility in this?
The beginning of this verse is a command: “Do not fear”.
It is all about trust. Do we trust that God is with us? Do we believe that He is using these struggles to strengthen us? Do we rely on His help daily? Do we relax into the palm of His hand, believing that He will never drop us?
My job is to trust God.
Action Step:
Today, let’s open our hearts and lives to His presence. Let’s spend a little time tilling up the soil of our hearts and softening those areas where distrust and doubt have been creeping in. Let’s prepare our hearts and minds for the blessings He is planting in us this summer.
Prayer:
Dear God, We want all the blessings you have for our lives, but most of all, we want the blessing of your presence. You, right here with us, helping us, holding us. Be with us today and always. Turn the soil of our hearts and minds and open our eyes. In Jesus’ name, amen.
