AnnaMae Williams

Isaiah 41:10 KJV (WS)

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.

Isaiah writes to people who need stability in their lives.

He gives them two commands to his readers.

Do not be afraid.

Do not be dismayed.

Do not be afraid.

We have a pretty good idea of what it means to be afraid.

Fear is something that we all deal with in some area of our life or another.

Sometimes we fear those things that are external to us.

Dark

Spiders

Snakes

Heights

etc...

Sometimes we fear those things that go on inside ourselves.

Doubt

Inability

Failure

lack of fulfillment

It may be that you are here today, given the context of why we are here, and you are afraid of what comes after death.

Isaiah says do not be afraid.

He also says...

Do not be dismayed.

Though you may have a pretty good mental concept of fear, I would venture to guess that a lot of people do not understand this word dismayed.

Being dismayed is the result of being afraid.

It means to be disturbed, shaken up, or unstable.

Did you ever spin in circles just to make yourself dizzy when you were a kid?

Then, afterwards, you try to walk in a straight line.

The fearful individual is dismayed, they cannot live life the way God intended.

They are dizzy with fear.

They are wobbly because they are scared of all the danger that is around them.

How does Isaiah intend for his readers to just stop being afraid and dismayed?

Are they just supposed to fake it?

Are they supposed to look inward and find some source of strength within themselves?

Are they supposed to numb the fear by indulging in all the distractions offered by the world?

No!

Isaiah’s answer for the fear and dismay of his readers is God.

Fear not, for I am with thee!

Be not dismayed, for I am thy God!

Isaiah’s readers could find courage and stability by realizing that they are not alone and that God is with them.

What does it mean to have God on your side?

It means you receive strength from Him.

Hard times will come in every person’s life.

When you walk with God, though, you find the strength to get through and grow through them.

Valuable violins are not made out of soft pine that has known only warm showers and gentle breezes. They are made out of wood that has endured the cold and storms of many winters. Such wood has character in it. Christian character is not formed by lying on flowery beds of ease, but is the product of treading rough highways in life.

God’s people have a source of strength that the world does not understand.

We can be sable because of the strength that we rely on.

It’s not our own, it’s His.

Help

God’s offer of help is an offer of assistance and companionship.

We can have courage and confidence because our God is always with us.

A dying man was fearful, even though he was a born-again Christian. He expressed his feelings to his Christian doctor. The physician was silent, not knowing what to say. Just then a whining and scratching was heard at the door. When the doctor opened it, in bounded his big beautiful dog, who often went with him as he made house calls. The dog was glad to see his master. Sensing an opportunity to comfort his troubled patient, the doctor said, “My dog has never been in your room before, so he didn’t know what it was like in here. But he knew I was in here, and that was enough. In the same way, I’m looking forward to heaven. I don’t know much about it, but I know my Savior is there. And that’s all I need to know!”

For the child of God, you will never go somewhere, even death, where you will be separated from Him.

We can face any hardship or challenge, even death, knowing that He is there to help us.

Upheld

When God is with us, He becomes responsible for us.

He is our Father and what parent would not understand they have a righteous responsibility to keep their own child safe.

A little girl was walking home with her father one night. As they made their way through the darkness, the little girl said to her father, “Daddy would you please take my hand. I can only take a little bit of your hand, but you can take the whole of mine.

When God is holding our hand, we may trip, we may stumble, but He will uphold us.

When God is with us, we have no reason to fear.

We can live a confident and courageous life knowing that our God is with us.

We don’t have to be dismayed, unsettled, or shaken up.

Is God with you today?

There is one thing that prevents God from being with us, sin.

God wants to be with you.

He loves you.

He has provided a way for your sins to be washed clean.

He sent His Son to die on the cross so that He could come into your life to provide the help that you need.

Mrs. AnnaMae knew what it was like to have God with her in this life.

Now she gets to live in the presence of God enjoying the eternal life he has given her.

You can experience this too, if you will accept Jesus’ offer of salvation today.