For I am the Lord your God
who takes hold of your right hand and says to you,
Do not fear, I will help you.
Isaiah 41:13
Being a teacher, mentor, and spiritual coach to women means I have the sacred, holy privilege of hearing their stories. Some make me cheer; some make me cry. Women who are put together on the outside often carry hurt and pain on the inside. I’ve come to realize that life in this fallen world means you and me – all of us – are coming out of a hard thing, living through a hard thing, or a hard thing is on the horizon.
That’s not pessimistic, friend. It’s realistic.
We need to remember that God is not the author of pain. It was the enemy that slithered into the garden and hissed a lie into Eve’s ear. She chose to believe the evil one rather than God. And the proverbial Pandora’s box was opened. Sin entered the world, and brought along its companions: shame, guilt, suffering, etc. The choices of Adam and Eve then, and our own choices now, bring suffering as a result. Some of our pain is the result of things we’ve done and some is the result of what has been done to us.
Suffering stinks.
But suffering can serve a purpose. God can take what was not good and He can work it for good.
He can use these hard things to refine us and humble us. Pride tells us we don’t need anybody. A spiritual two-year-old declares, “I can do it myself!” But difficult circumstances can drive us to Him.
When all is well, we tend to forget about God. But when trouble comes, we find ourselves needing His help and crying out for it.
The reality is, He is always near. In good times and bad, He is near. When we are “good” girls and we are not-so-good. He loves us in the trouble and in the triumph – and we need Him in both.
If God is close enough to take hold of our hand, He is close. How reassuring to realize that we worship a God who is not just “up there” but very much “down here,” who knows and understand what “this” feels like. He came to us and for us. He became us. Removing his robe of glory, Jesus put on human flesh. We pray to a God who knows what it is to suffer and to navigate life in a fallen world.
When we realize He is near and He can help and He wants to help, our restless hearts are quieted. A sweet calmness settles over us. The storm may be raging on the outside, but we find ourselves quieted in the eye of the storm … because His hand is holding ours.
O God, thank you for holding my hand!
I will not fear because You are with me and for me
and I know you will help me!
We hope you will join us during June for our Write the WORD topic of the month: REST. In this week’s video, Laura shares her thoughts about rest: the command to do it, reasons for it, and a reminder of WHO we find rest in!
Visit our Downloads page today for your own copy of our free REST bookmark, optional S.O.A.P. study pages, and more resources to help you balance your heart for God with the demands of a busy life!
