What a precious verse for us to consider.  Isaiah 41:10 says, “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.”  Without a doubt, this is a verse that was given to bring peace to those who love the Lord.  Let’s break this verse down so that we can see more clearly the blessings and assurance of what it says.

FEAR THOU NOT – This verse is so simple in its meaning, and it offers great comfort to those going through difficult times. It is addressed primarily to the exiled Jews during their long captivity in Babylon, but the realization is that we who are the Lord’s people (Jew or Gentile) have nothing to fear.  This is truly addressed to all His people everywhere today in similar circumstances and it is as true today as it was then…those who belong to the Lord have nothing to fear.  As King David wrote in Psalm 27:1, “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”

FOR I AM WITH THEE – This is the reason why we should not be afraid. God was their protector (and He is certainly ours).  Romans 8:31 assures us, “If God be for us, who can be against us?”  What higher comfort can there possibly be?  The Lord is for us, and He is far greater than any man, beast, demon, or Satan, himself.   If we feel afraid at times, I believe it would serve us well to simply ask ourselves, “Why am I afraid?”  God is for us…no doubt.  Who can be victorious against us?  Absolutely no one!

BE NOT DISMAYED – The word rendered here ‘dismayed’ here comes from a Hebrew work that means “to see, to inspect and consider”; and then to look about as one might do in a state of alarm, or danger. The sense here is that we should remain calm, and have no fear of our foes.  We are reminded in 1 John 4:4, “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because GREATER IS HE THAT IS WITHIN YOU, THAN HE THAT IS IN THE WORLD.  Calm assurance of the power and love of the Lord will cause us to say along with Hebrews 13:6, “The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.”

FOR I AM THY GOD – The Lord is able to preserve and strengthen us during our most difficult trials.  The God of heaven is our God.  He is all powerful, and that power was pledged for our protection.  In every sense of the word, we have nothing to fear.  For those who have put their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, we are assured that the Lord is strong enough to bear us up during the hard times.  He has also promised us that He will always be here for us.  Hebrews 13:5 tells us of the faithfulness of our Lord.  He promises us to keep us as He says, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

I WILL UPHOLD THEE WITH THE RIGHT HAND OF MY RIGHTEOUSNESS – The right hand speaks of strength (most people are right-handed).  The Lord sustains us by His own strength.  We cannot hold ourselves up; our valuable friends cannot hold us up.  It is the work of the Lord to sustain us, and the Lord uses His powerful right hand to uphold us and cause us to be victorious in ALL our trials.

I would encourage each one to memorize Isaiah 40:10.  This is a precious and encouraging verse to consider when we go through our many trials.  (194.10)