She was elderly, lived alone and felt quite lonely and depressed.  She didn’t want to be – but she was.  She was usually able to tread her emotional waters by thinking on her favorite verse of Scripture – Isaiah 41:10. 

The Lord said through the prophet, “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” – KJV

She was challenged by the words “be not dismayed.”  Hey, I will celebrate my birthday dis-May, but that’s not what this word means.  It carries the idea of being anxious.  The Lord tells us, however, that no matter our circumstances, we don’t need to feel that way.  

OK you cannot tell a person how they should feel can you?  I used to try that with my kids, “You will eat those Lima beans and be happy about it.”  It didn’t work.  But God can say such things to us, because He has His ways of dismantling dismay.

In this verse He promised to strengthen us.  A depressed person is locked into a diminished emotional state but the one who crafted us knows us and is able to address it.  He may not remove the underlying problem, but He lends His strength that we might bear it. 

Isaiah said He would uphold us by His right hand.  I was caring for a hospice patient recently.  He could not get out of his chair to get to the bathroom.   He asked me to put my hand on the small of his back and nudge him a little to get him up and out.  With trepidation I did it, and he made it. 

With my hand I strengthened his effort and that’s what God does for us.   

I have an old picture of my skinny 3-year-old nephew.  It appears that he had lifted a barbell with massive weights over his head.  The bar stretches beyond the borders of the picture. Impressive! But what you don’t see are my 2 brothers who are holding up each end. 

We may not always see God in the picture, but He is always there upholding us.

God said, “I will help thee.”   This is an all-inclusive promise of assistance.  Pick a problem – it doesn’t matter.  He promises to help.   Can he help with your finances?  Sure!  But can He pick us up from depression?  Yes, that too!  

The sweetest part of this passage is where He says, “I am with thee.”   

I was just with a clerk at the convenience store.  His presence didn’t do much for me.  If he were the last person on earth, we might hang out.

On the other hand, we find great satisfaction and comfort in being with people who we know care for us – a parent, a spouse, a child, a friend.  Those are the people we want with us when trouble comes.

But God, God cares for us like nobody else.  He has demonstrated that.  The fact that He is all powerful and all-knowing is a considerable bonus.

Isaiah 41:10 always helped my friend’s depression in the past, but not today.  She decided maybe she needed a distraction – a good novel to read.  She found one in the facility library that piqued her interest. 

She got it home and flipped over to page one.  She found a large bookmark stuffed there from a previous reader.

There were some words in a 24-point font printed on it – Isaiah 41:10, ‘“Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”

God personally delivered His message to her.  She was not alone.  And the realization of it dissipated the fog in her heart. 

Hey – He is there for you too! 

A PRAYER: We don’t know how You do it Lord, but we are sure glad You do.

This has been Jim Johnson and pickleheavenpress.com

May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with you