Fear not, for I am with you;

Be not dismayed, for I am your God;

I will strengthen you, I will help you,

I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Isaiah 41:10

How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord

Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word

What more can He say than to you He hath said

To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled

As a new Christian I knew I should read the Bible.  I would have times when I was faithful to do so, but more often than not, I neglected to read the Bible.  For the most part, I considered reading my Bible to be a duty.  A good thing to do.  And I had my favorite passages and books, like the Psalms.  But as I grew older, I realized that if I wanted to know God I would have to be more in His Word.  It’s in Scripture that He gives us His promises and makes Himself known.  He is a faithful God, and when I read His Word, I see that He keeps the promises He has made.  And I see an amazing love that’s for the world, but also just for me.  Scripture shows that my God is a personal God. 

Fear not, I am with thee; oh be not dismayed

For I am thy God and will still give thee aid

I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand

Upheld by My righteous, omnipotent hand.

When through the deep waters I call thee to go

The rivers of sorrow shall not overflow

For I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless

And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.

When through fiery trials thy pathways shall lie

My grace all sufficient shall be thy supply

The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design

Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine.

I’ve been thinking a lot this week about a dark and lonely time when I was away from home and had no real support.  I had some very tough experiences in the NAVY, and no way to escape.  My family was helpless to rescue me.  But I know that that’s not what God would have wanted anyway.  He was teaching me that He was holding my hand.  A lesson I needed to learn and something I still know with the deepest part of my soul.  Isaiah 41:13 says, “For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, ‘Fear not, I am the One who helps you.’”  He walked with me through that valley of the shadow of death and brought me through.  But He is still showing me that he did so much more than just bring me through.

I love these lines of this week’s hymn, How Firm A Foundation, – “For I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless, and sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.”  This sings of how great our God is.  Great as in big and powerful and able to do what He says.  He made a promise in Romans 8:28, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good.”   I was a mess when I got out of the NAVY.  Broken.  But God knew how He wanted to put me back together, and He began a work of grace in my heart that fills me with an inexpressible joy today.  What if I walked through that trial because I needed to learn to see him?  Job 42:5 says, “I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you.” 

I could not have made it through my time in the NAVY or through the emotional upheaval afterwards without my God.  But I was never meant to.  “My grace all sufficient shall by thy supply,” are only words until you know that His grace is sufficient.  I learned, and am learning, that his grace is sufficient.  He has everything I need.  His supply doesn’t run low.  But the key is learning.  Paul said in Philippians 4:12-13 “I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound.  In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.  I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”  We know from Scripture that from the moment of his conversion Paul walked through some great, great trials.  But how else was he going to learn?

The soul that on Jesus has learned to repose

I will not, I will not desert to its foes

That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake

I’ll never, no never, no never forsake

I learned, and am learning, to take hold of God and not let go.  I learned, and am learning, to rely on Him.  But more, I learned that He is above all, a faithful God.  He never, ever leaves us.  He is always here and always enough.