Need a Hand?
By Elin Henderson
“…I will uphold you with my righteous right hand…For I the LORD your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you.’”
Isaiah 41:10b, 13
Sometimes we think, like the author of the well-known poem Footsteps, that the idea of God holding our hand is a lot like walking side-by-side together. When I first read this passage in Isaiah 41, I was thinking the same thing until the Lord drew my attention to the wording in the Scriptures. By Elin Henderson
“…I will uphold you with my righteous right hand…For I the LORD your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you.’”
Isaiah 41:10b, 13
Think back to when you were last walking hand-in-hand with someone. What hands were in use? Someone’s right hand and the other’s left, correct? You can’t hold hands right hand to right hand without it being a little awkward and odd!
Now, consider situations in which right hands are held. I think of climbing a mountain and the climber above reaches down, supporting and pulling up his companion. Another possibility would be pulling someone out of a hole. Someone is above and someone is below. Someone is in need of help and someone else is helping. Words like support, strength and rescue come to mind when we consider His right hand in ours.
As the one being helped, what is our responsibility in this rescue effort? Are we to strive or struggle? I am not much of a mountain climber, but I would imagine that a lot of groping about and floundering while suspended high above the ground just can’t be good! Likewise, we need to be fully dependent on the strength and guidance of the One above us. It’s best to rest and take hold of the hand held down to us, allowing His strength to be our and His stability to pull us along.
More than that, all the while that His hand is extended downward, He is calmly reassuring us, “Fear not, I will help you.” Not only are we being helped, we are being soothed. It is a double comfort and support!
How many times do we find ourselves down in a ditch for one reason or another, or scaling a mountain far beyond our reach? In times like these, may we constantly be reminded of His strong right hand, extending down from above, reaching for our right hand, ready to rescue us. And, all the while He is softly and calmly encouraging us: “Don’t struggle, take my hand…Fear not, I will help you!”
GOING DEEPER:
1. Are you facing any mountains too large to overcome or holes too great to climb out of? Where are you going for strength and support? Are you depending on yourself or His guidance and strength?
FURTHER READING:
Isaiah 48:13, 59:1
Oakwood’s missionaries Elin Henderson and her husband Phil serve as church planters with New Tribes in Mozambique, Africa. Elin is mother to nine-year-old Callie and six-year-old Elias.
