Upheld

Lots of the stuff we go through in life can be challenging. Pressures at work. Backstabbing colleagues. Bills that need paid. Repair work that needs done at the house. Difficult neighbours. Jam-packed schedules with never enough hours in the day. Health situations to deal with. Rocky relationships. Life can be a struggle and testing at times. But we are not in this alone.
God has not left us to it, to try and make our way as best we can through all the trials and challenges of life. We do not worship a distant, far off God. We worship Emmanuel, God with us. He does not leave it to us to struggle on by. He is with us, the Holy Spirit dwells within us, guiding us, strengthening us, equipping us and helping us.
“Though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the LORD upholds his hand.” Psalm 37:24
“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
Again and again throughout the Bible God promises that He will uphold us. Though we go through the valley of shadows He is with us. He walks along with us. He leads us safely through the valley. We may want to bypass the valley, but God brings us through. He upholds us. He lifts us when we fall. He strengthens and helps us. We are held in His righteous right hand. The same hand that placed stars in the night sky and had a nail driven through it on the cross is the righteous, victorious hand that upholds us. We are secure in His hand. Nothing can happen that will pull us away from the righteous right hand of God. The cross proves how much God loves us and that He will never leave or abandon us. We are not in this alone – God is with us.
We will face difficult situations. There will be times when everything seems to be conspiring against us. If we are serious about living out our faith in an increasingly anti-God world there will be persecution that comes our way. There will be haters who attack us – in some cases verbally, in some cases verbally, in some cases by trying to destroy our reputation. Jesus promises that people will hate us because of Him. But the reassuring thing when we go through seasons like that is there is also a promise that we will not be cast headlong – we will not be overwhelmed for God upholds our hand. Though the waves may buffet against us we will not be destroyed for Emmanuel is strengthening us. The One who calms the storms with His words is the One who upholds us in his righteous right hand so we need not be dismayed. God is with us, and He is holding us secure in His love so that when we reach the end of this mortal life we can enter His Kingdom where tears and struggles are no more, knowing He has been faithful and brought us safe to our eternal home.