Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

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 The God who is with us during the crisis 

Isaiah: 41:8-20

Vs: 10: - “Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”

Have you ever had a time in your life that you would call “a crisis”?
When a crisis hits our life, we may feel fear, anxiety, confusion, and intense dread. We feel that no one understands what we are going through; We even feel that no one cares; There is no one to talk to; There is just no one to share our pain and help to carry the burden. Deeper crises raise the deeper question, “What should we do now?”

Isaiah 41:10 is a powerful, deep, and very personal verse. Here we can see only the references “I” and “YOU”.  In this verse, God gave great promises to Isaiah for overcoming fear.  The same resources are available for you and me during our rough times. 
1)The resource for God's presence: - “Fear not, for I am with you;” 
We live in a fallen world filled with uncertainties. The uncertainty of each day develops crises in our lives. It can be a family crisis or ill health, divorce, death of loved ones, national or global crisis, a crisis of faith, unanswered prayer, or dealing with some local church conflict! In Hebrews 13:5, we read, “He will never leave you nor forsake you. We are never alone because God is always with us when things are tough.
2)The resource for God’s protection: - “Be not dismayed for I am your God,” 
Dismayed means feeling distressed or anxious. It also means to look anxiously around in terror. Here God is telling us tenderly not to look around as we are in danger or a state of alarm, instead be calm because He is our God. 
3)The resource of God's strength: - “I will strengthen you,” 
When God strengthens us, He makes us courageous. Here the Lord invites us to trade our weakness for His strength; this transaction empowers us for any crisis. God's strength is made perfect in our weakness!! God's power perfects our weaknesses, allowing us to do so much more than we could ever do on our own. 
4)The resource for God’s help: - “Yes, I will help you,”
Life is not easy to get through. God knows all the problems and crises we are going through. We all need help daily. We need comfort. We need strength. We need courage. Trust that He has a plan for our lives and will take care of us, especially in the hard times. 
5)The resource for His honor: - “Surely I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
The “right hand” is seen as a place of honor and status throughout the Bible. God’s mighty hands became flesh and were nailed to the cross on our behalf. Our life’s journey leads us through dark valleys and deep ravines where the shadows of fear and discouragement fall on us. But during it all, God’s nail-scarred hands embrace us and uphold us we lose our footing.
Challenge ourselves today to keep these precious promises in our hearts. Make them ours by claiming them by faith.

Prayer

 Almighty God, remind us that You are with us in all our crises and grant us fresh hope daily to face our struggles. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Thought of the Day

We are not living in fear. We are living in FAITH. 

Jooley Mathew Zachariah, Houston Trinity Marthoma Church.  

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