By Pastor Steve Nickodemus

For I Am With You!

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

“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 English Standard Version

What are you afraid of?  At Halloween, children are often afraid of scary ghosts and witches and even dinosaurs.  But for most adults we have traded in our childhood fears for tough adult fears; cancer, job loss, divorce, dying.  We are often fearful and try to cope by “not thinking” about our fears and covering them with busyness and a stiff upper lip.

But these fears are real and are not going away.  Because sin is in this world, bad things happen, even to God’s people.  We do suffer and we are not in control.  What is the solution?

The Lord does not promise to take away bad things.  But He does promise that He is our God and that He will strengthen and help and uphold with his righteous right hand those who trust in His mercy. The proof of His promises is that He sent His own Son to die for the sins of the world.  For the sake of Jesus our sins are forgiven and we are made God’s children.

And because we are His children, His heirs of eternal life, we know that He will not desert us.  He will come when we call and He will provide and strengthen us.  Yes, we may have fears or worry, but we can turn our faith toward Him whose promises are true and rest in His presence. Amen!

“Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed,
For I am thy God, and will still give thee aid;
I’ll strengthen thee, help thee and cause thee to stand,
Upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.”

Copyright Family of Christ Lutheran Church Colorado Springs, Colorado