Isaiah 41:10

AMP – ‘Do not fear [anything], for I am with you; Do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, be assured I will help you; I will certainly take hold of you with My righteous right hand [a hand of justice, of power, of victory, of salvation].

NRSVUE – do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God; I will strength you; I will help you; I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.

VOICE – So don’t be afraid. I am here with you; don’t be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, help you. I am here with My right hand to make right and to hold you up.

Overcoming Stress through God’s Strength

Historically, the Israelites faced threats from empires like Assyria and Babylon. God’s presence provided them comfort and courage during these tumultuous times. God has a covenant relationship with the Israelites, and reminded them that He is their God. God is powerful and faithful to His people, reminding them that He will get them through any and all adversity.

God promises to provide strength necessary to face challenges. It’s a combination of physical, but mental and spiritual. Throughout the Bible, God empowers people to do His will. It’s a reminder for us that our weaknesses are met with His divine strength to truly show God’s power to the world. God is committed to helping us to the best of our ability. God’s commitment to help us is not passive, but active in our lives. God will hold us up with his right hand, which was connected to God’s strength and authority. This ensures that God’s behavior is just and faithful.

REFLECTION CHECKPOINT: How do you get through your stressful moments? Do you try to handle it on your own or through God’s strength?

God’s Strength Guides Us

God’s right hand of righteousness signifies His commitment to justice and integrity. We need to trust in that righteousness. Let’s break that done a little further, for the AMP translation breaks down His righteousness into four areas: justice, power, victory, and salvation.

God’s justice is about ensuring fairness and equity. A lot of our human systems that have been created may have been fair and equitable when they were created, but as society evolved and adapted. One of the areas that I see this happen more to is the American income tax system. From an unweighted tax bracket system between the impoverished and the wealthy, more tax cuts for higher-income individuals, and more severity for lower income people. A lot of the wealthier individuals tend to be accessible to bigger tax cuts and more deductions compared to lower income people, and a lot of lower-income individuals have access to different deductions, but are often disqualified due to their income. The poverty line tends to determine a lot of the accessibility to these deductions. What I do witness overall is that it is an imbalanced system. We need to create a more balanced, more accessible income tax system. One that allows everyone to pay their fair share and support the different systems in the United States that are in desperate need of funding.

God’s power is about your ability or capacity to act or perform. We live in a world that we are always having to be “on.” Whether it’s in your home, with your friends, or at work – we’re often taught to be actively doing something. Through God, we can find the power to rest. We can find the power to effectively manage our energy to do what we’re needed to do. We don’t have to be active to be doing God’s will in the world. We cannot pour from an empty cup, so it’s important that we recognize our ability to rest, reflect, and restore ourselves to do God’s will.

God’s victory is about trusting that God has the strength to guide us through our battles. A lot of battles we tend to face nowadays are silent battles, with the rise of mental illnesses. At the same time, we are often quiet about it due to the stigma that comes with sharing these things that we are struggling with. Society is also built in an inaccessible way so that we can’t effectively do what we’re called to do in our roles. The struggle of necessary accessibility options is often a massive barrier of entry for a lot of neurodivergent and disabled folks that would like to do something to obtain an income, but are unable to physically, mentally, and/or emotionally sustain a position. Especially, since the application process of receiving disability payments from social security and the respective states is a very short-staffed and discouraging process. It’s hard to still find trust in a broken system, but we’re no longer trusting the system. We are trusting a God that will see us through to the other side of these battles.

God’s salvation is all about receiving the deliverance from our bondage to sin and the consequences that come from it. God’s forgiveness is a “forgive and forget” mindset, meaning God doesn’t hold our past against us. God accepts that we are flawed, and have a flawed past, and how we can turn away from those flaws and turn towards Him. Society will hold our past against us, now more than ever with the presence of social media. We are holding each other accountable more than ever nowadays, but we are seeing it rise to the other side of unsustainable. It’s good to hold those that cause harm and evil accountable to their actions, but we, as Christians, need to allow space for forgiveness and reconciliation. We don’t have to like or respect what others have done in their past, but we need to create a neutral ground (based on love and respect) with God’s creation.

REFLECTION CHECKPOINT: Which section resonated with you most: justice, power, victory, or salvation?