Words to live by

"So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." - (Isaiah 41:10)

It's one thing to read and understand this verse. It's a totally different thing to actually 'live' it.

I read this verse last Sunday and have been mulling it over in my head almost the entire week, looking for some angle on it to share with you, but I really can't come up with one.

For all intents and purposes, it's pretty straight forward, and really doesn't need an explanation. It seems as if it would be common sense to any believer, but when the chips are down, do we remember these verses and promises in earnest?

Man tends to breaks promises all the time. We even make promises to God.....and we too often break them before long. But can anyone really point out a promise that God has broken towards us? If anything, we as mortals once again are always looking for the fine print, the legal disclaimer, the loop hole. It's as if God's promises are just too good to be true, or the fact we've never encountered someone who hasn't let us down at least once in our lives.

To me, when I read this, I can't tell the type of voice God is using. Is He using His authoritative voice of creator of everything to boldly claim: "Do Not Fear, For I Am With You..." or is God your best friend and in full compassion and love and sincerity does He put His hand upon your shoulder, smile warmly and softly whisper: "Do not fear, for I am with you..."

I'd like to think both are true at the same time. The first a commandment of obeyment and instilling a level of confidence within me. The second, a brotherly hug of security to say we will weather this storm together my child....as always.

The thing though with us is we tend to forget these words and promises in any form. For all the times I worry and get scared, and suffered from panic attacks, I often wonder how many hours of my natural life have I shaved off from fear. When my wife and I fight. When I lost my job. When things began to crumble and there was nothing in 'my' control to shore them back up...I succumbed to paralyzing fear. Fear of the unknown, fear of bills, fear of security robbing me of many months of happiness. These overwhelming fears began to eat me from the inside like a slow cancer.

Loss of sleep, loss of appetite, loss of sanity. Of course these then spilled over into my social life as well....Fear of sharing, fear of pity, fear of intimacy. When these fears begin to prevail, they then take a darker turn. You begin to wonder if your friends and family think are judging you, comparing you, etc. The downward spiral seems as if it is spinning out of control.

I seem to forget the part where God proclaims: "I will strengthen you and help you." But I think this is only true if two conditions are met; 1) We remember to ask God to give us strength and help, and more importantly, 2) We accept with our hearts and place our trust that His words are indeed true, and His promises are unbreakable to us and free of charge.