Isaiah 41:13  For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.

When we’re frightened and concerned it’s a wonderful blessing to be comforted.  Sometimes we are the comforter – and sometimes the comforted.  And sometimes we are both at the same time.  I’m laughing as I think of that scene in the movie While You Were Sleeping where Lucy and the brother are trying to walk across the icy sidewalk.  They are hanging onto one another for dear life.

I think of children who are frightened and the amazing comfort they can derive from holding a parent’s hand.  The power is far beyond holding a hand – it is rooted in relationship with who the hand belongs to.  It communicates that I am with someone I love and trust.  I am not alone.  It also communicates that someone is there to help.

There are times when we receive frightening news and we squeeze the hand of the one we are with.  It is a way of releasing the anxiety of the moment and receiving strength from the one with us. The fact that we are adults doesn’t diminish the power of the peace and encouragement that can be communicated through the touch – the hand that is held.

Our God is our Father who loves us.  When Jesus taught the disciples to pray he began, “Our Father…”.  Think of the Prodigal’s father and the joy he had in the return of his son.  Our Father is not a distant, aloof, icy individual.  He is One who cares deeply for us.  He enables us to experience the reality of His loving presence with us.

In Romans 8:15 Paul makes it clearer in case we are lacking in our grasp of who our God is to us, “¹⁵For [the Spirit which] you have now received [is] not a spirit of slavery to put you once more in bondage to fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption [the Spirit producing sonship] in [the bliss of] which we cry, Abba (Father)! Father!” (Amplified)

I know that my wife Donna had a less than positive relationship with her dad.  But years ago at a conference, she had an encounter with the Lord where He communicated His Father love to her.  He redefined her entire understanding of what a father’s love was about.  He will do the same for us if we seek Him.  Remember that our loving Father is with us – and in times of need, He holds our hand and says, “Do not fear; I will help you.”