I Will Help You

...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 uphold you with my victorious right hand. Isaiah 41:10 NRSV

Who doesn't need some help? Who couldn't use lots of divine help in their lives? God is offering to remove our fears, to give us courage and to assist us with God's own power.

Why do we shy away from this?

The 41st chapter of Isaiah is full of God's assurances. Even as the people are in exile, God gives them assurance that God will restore them to God's favor and promised land. Just because they are outside Jerusalem, God has not left them. God is in their midst giving comfort and help.

I don't know if many of us would recognize if we were in exile. I am unsure if I always know when I am most in need of divine assistance or even comfort. But God knows and God is there with me, with you, in all times and places.

Often, I begin my prayers for myself and others asking for God's presence or for God to be with that person. However, I know in my head and heart that God is actually already there. I think what I am asking for is an awareness of God's presence. I pray that the person who needs God's courage and peace literally will feel that peace and absence of fear. I want assurance of God's continued comfort. I want the fear to at least be lessened, if not completely absent. I want God's divine help to be real.

God, you are with us. We ask that you take away our fears. We ask that you give us your strength. We ask that you help us and uphold us with your victorious right hand. We know that your divine help us real. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Copyright 2010 Amelia G. Sims