"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."

Why You Can Trust the Promises of God

Posted on by Michele Morin

Sunday Scripture

If eyes could wear out a page, there would be a hole in my old maroon Bible where Isaiah 41:10 lives:

“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.”

Anxiety was my default until my life was turned upside down by a God who works best with empty things. I brought him nothing. He gave me the gift of himself, and with that came a core of strength that has stood me up when I wanted to sit down and kept me faithful when I wanted to give up.

Scripture verses are not magic words. Isaiah 41:10 is a gust of worthless wind unless it points to a God who keeps the shimmering promises written on the Bible’s thin, silky pages, so let’s devote the rest of your time here to context. If, by faith, you have been folded into the family of God, many of the promises God makes to “Jacob” or “Israel” apply to his church as well. You can believe him for strength, certainty, and a powerful upholding because of who he is. Feast on his self-revelation in these selected verses from Isaiah 41:

Listen to me in silence, O coastlands;
    let the peoples renew their strength;
let them approach, then let them speak;
    let us together draw near for judgment.

Who stirred up one from the east
    whom victory meets at every step?
He gives up nations before him,
    so that he tramples kings underfoot;
he makes them like dust with his sword,
    like driven stubble with his bow.
He pursues them and passes on safely,
    by paths his feet have not trod.
Who has performed and done this,
    calling the generations from the beginning?
I, the Lord, the first,
    and with the last; I am he.

 For I, the Lord your God,
    hold your right hand;
it is I who say to you, “Fear not,
    I am the one who helps you.”

Fear not, you worm Jacob,
    you men of Israel!
I am the one who helps you, declares the Lord;
    your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
Behold, I make of you a threshing sledge,
    new, sharp, and having teeth;
you shall thresh the mountains and crush them,
    and you shall make the hills like chaff;
you shall winnow them, and the wind shall carry them away,
    and the tempest shall scatter them.
And you shall rejoice in the Lord;
    in the Holy One of Israel you shall glory.

When the poor and needy seek water,
    and there is none,
    and their tongue is parched with thirst,
I the Lord will answer them;
    I the God of Israel will not forsake them.
I will open rivers on the bare heights,
    and fountains in the midst of the valleys.
I will make the wilderness a pool of water,
    and the dry land springs of water.
I will put in the wilderness the cedar,
    the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive.
I will set in the desert the cypress,
    the plane and the pine together,
that they may see and know,
    may consider and understand together,
that the hand of the Lord has done this,
    the Holy One of Israel has created it.

This is the Word of the Lord.
It is absolutely true, and it is given to us in love.
Thanks be to God.

Michele Morin

Subscribe to my monthly email newsletter here!

And as always, you can also subscribe to Living Our Days blog to get regular content delivered to your inbox twice a week. Lord willing, I’ll be sharing a book review most Wednesdays and then a Sunday Scripture to guide your heart toward the Word. Just enter your e-mail address in the field at the top of this page.

Order your copy of Oh Wondrous Grace Chronicle here and buy one for a friend. I have an article in the current issue on the gift of work. (I know, it’s hard sometimes, but truly, it’s a gift from God, and he was the very first homemaker.) You’ll also find good words on the blessing of “Monday Night Dinners” from my friend Sue Moore Donaldson, the queen of hospitality.

What I’m Reading Now

Published by Michele Morin

Michele Morin is a teacher, blogger, reader, and gardener who finds joy in sitting at a table surrounded by women with open Bibles. She has been married to an unreasonably patient husband for thirty years, and together they have four sons, two daughters-in-love, three grandchildren, and one lazy St. Bernard. Michele loves hot tea and well-crafted sentences, poems that stop her in her tracks and days at the ocean with the whole family. She laments biblical illiteracy and advocates for the prudent use of “little minutes.” She blogs at Living Our Days, and you can connect with her on Facebook or Twitter.

35 thoughts on “Why You Can Trust the Promises of God”

  1. I am so very grateful for His many promises which bring peace and encouragement as I turn to them again and again. His Word sustains me day by day. Blessings today, Michele!

    Like

  2. A wonderful chapter of hope! Even as we face uncertain times that may lead to great change and upheaval in our country, it is GOD who is sovereign over all, the first and the last. He is with us and will give us strength to endure and help us through until we reach our heavenly home or Christ returns. (Isaiah 41:10 is one of my favorite promises too, Michele!)

    Like

  3. Thank you, Michele, for sharing these powerful verses of hope and promise. Our God is definitely large and in charge, and we do well, especially in these troubled times, to remember that.
    Blessings!

    Like

  5. I like the old saying that not all of God’s Word was written TO me, but all of it was written FOR me. It is supernatural and living. The God of Creation still speaks to me through words written millenniums ago. How amazing is that!

    Like

  6. I like how so many words – from bloggers, quotes on social media, my own bible study – are reminding me of God’s strength and guidance in all times. Thank you.

    Like

  7. Michele,
    Beautiful Sunday scripture read on a Monday. Isaiah 41:10 brings such comfort when we are shaken empty and have nothing to offer God. He is our strength. Though painful, getting to this point of emptiness is what enables us to grow in Him.
    Blessings,
    Bev xx

    Like

  8. We can find so much comfort in the promises of God, Michele! I love studying them, but this one you’ve shared is one I’ve not taken the time to study before. I’ll have to examine this more deeply to mine for God’s gems! Thanks for sharing!

    Like

  10. ********************************************************
    Thank you for sharing at #OverTheMoon. Pinned and shared. Have a lovely week. I hope to see you at next week’s party too! Please stay safe and healthy. Come party with us at Over The Moon! Catapult your content Over The Moon! @marilyn_lesniak @EclecticRedBarn
    ********************************************************

    Like

  12. I love hearing God described as “a God who works best with empty things.” So beautiful and so true! I have been feeling more anxiety than usual too. I am going back and reading the verses from Isaiah tonight. Thank you!

    Like

  14. Awww, Michele, Isaiah 41:10 is a verse I’ve come back to time and again for that reminder of who God is, and who He is in our lives. Thank you for the reminders of His faithfulness and that promises are “yes and amen” complete in Him.

    Like

  15. Isaiah 41:10 is a passage that has come to mind over and over again throughout my Christian life. I love that phrase: ” a God who works best with empty things.” And I love the thought that His Words are an outflow of who He is, and therefore good and true and trustworthy.

    Like

  17. Beautifully written! I love this —>”You can believe him for strength, certainty, and a powerful upholding because of who he is.” God is “I am.” and that is enough for me.

    I love seeing what books you are reading. I hope my book will be there in the near future. 🙂

    Like

  18. Oh Michele .. yes! I love Isaiah 41:10, along with the rest of the chapter. These lines caught my eye this time through: “For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you.” Such beautiful comfort from our heavenly Father.

    Like

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Google photo

You are commenting using your Google account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.