Hold My Hand

“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.’”
— Isaiah 41:13

I remember being a little girl and becoming convinced there was something in my bedroom.

I had heard a strange noise and no amount of reassurance from my parents could convince me that everything was fine.

My parents could tell me there was nothing to be afraid of.

I wasn't buying it.

There was something in that room.

At least, that's what I believed.

And I certainly wasn't going back in there alone.

Until my dad reached for my hand.

He took my tiny hand and placed it inside his much larger, capable one. Then he walked into my room with me.

Suddenly, I wasn't afraid anymore.

The room hadn't changed.

The noise hadn't been explained.

I hadn't suddenly become brave.

My dad was simply with me.

And somehow, that was enough.

The Fears Grow Up With Us

As an adult, I rarely worry about what might be hiding in my bedroom.

My fears come in much bigger packages now.

What if that relationship is never reconciled?

What if my friend isn't healed?

What if something happens to my spouse?

What if this situation never changes?

What if I just can't get past what happened?

Fear is one of the hardest unwanted houseguests to evict.

Just when you think you've finally gotten rid of it, it seems to show up again…sometimes wearing a completely different disguise.

And unlike the fears of childhood, adult fears often come with very real circumstances attached to them.

There are things we genuinely cannot control.

There are diagnoses we cannot change.

Relationships we cannot repair on our own.

Futures we cannot predict.

People we cannot protect.

And sometimes the hardest part isn't knowing what to do.

It's knowing that we can't do anything at all.

That's why a verse a close friend recently shared with me stopped me in my tracks.

It was Isaiah 41:13.

The Hand of God

Here's the verse that brought that childhood memory rushing back to me:

“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.’”
— Isaiah 41:13

Read that again.

God holds our hand.

Not because we're strong.

Not because we've figured everything out.

Not because we know what happens next.

He holds our hand because He is our God.

When I'm afraid, I can place my small, feeble, powerless hand into the strong, capable hand of my Savior.

And I don't have to know what is waiting around the corner.

Because He does.

I don't have to have enough strength for tomorrow.

Because He does.

I don't have to know how everything will work out.

Because He already knows the end of the story.

And then God says:

“Fear not, I am the One who helps you.”

What a promise.

He doesn't simply tell us not to be afraid.

He tells us why we don't have to be afraid.

Because He is with us.

Because He will help us.

When No One Else Is There

The apostle Paul understood what it meant to need God's hand.

Near the end of his life, Paul found himself imprisoned in Rome and facing a potentially dangerous legal hearing.

And when he stood before the authorities for his defense, something heartbreaking happened.

No one stood beside him.

Paul writes:

“At my first defense no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me. May it not be charged against them! But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me...”
— 2 Timothy 4:16–17

I get emotional every time I read those words.

But the Lord stood by me.

Can you imagine what Paul must have felt?

He was facing an uncertain future.

The people who could have stood beside him had disappeared.

He was alone.

And yet, he wasn't.

Because the Lord stood beside him.

Paul didn't say, “But I found enough courage within myself.”

He didn't say, “But I figured out how to handle it.”

He said:

“But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me.”

God didn't necessarily remove the frightening circumstance.

But He didn't leave Paul to face it alone.

And sometimes that is the very help we need.

You Don't Have to Be Brave Alone

There are some things in life that scare us because they are genuinely scary.

We don't have to pretend otherwise.

Faith isn't pretending the room isn't dark.

Faith is knowing who is walking into the room with us.

Maybe today you're facing something you don't feel strong enough to handle.

Maybe you're waiting on an answer you desperately want.

Maybe you're walking through a situation you would give anything to change.

Maybe you're afraid of what tomorrow might bring.

You don't have to manufacture enough courage to face it alone.

You can reach for the hand of your Father.

And here's the beautiful thing:

You don't have to convince Him to take your hand.

He's already reaching for you.

The God who holds the universe in His hands invites you to place your hand in His.

The God who knows what tomorrow holds walks beside you today.

The God who has promised never to leave you will not abandon you in the middle of your fear.

What If We Stopped Trying to Be Strong?

Sometimes I think we make faith much harder than it needs to be.

We think we need to be stronger.

Braver.

More confident.

More certain.

But maybe faith sometimes looks much simpler than that.

Maybe faith is just reaching out your hand.

“God, I don't know what to do.”

“I don't know how this is going to work out.”

“I'm scared.”

“I don't have the strength for this.”

“But I know You do.”

And then we place our hand in His.

Just like that little girl who was afraid to walk into her bedroom alone, we can face whatever is waiting for us because we aren't walking into it alone.

The room may still be dark.

The circumstances may not change.

The answers may not come immediately.

But the One holding our hand has not changed.

And that changes everything.

So whatever you're facing today, remember His words:

“Fear not, I am the One who helps you.”

You don't have to know what comes next.

You just have to hold His hand.

Because when the God of the universe is holding yours, you are never facing anything alone.