My favorite verse in the Bible is Isaiah 41:10, “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.” (ESV)
On more than one trying occasion, I have squeezed my right hand and imagined God holding it.
Recently, I read that verse and thought – wait a minute – this verse doesn’t say He’s holding my right hand. It says, He will hold me with His right hand!
At the same time, I also discovered what it says just three verses later, in Isaiah 41:14. “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.”
So God IS holding my right hand – with His right hand!
But, imagine walking along side by side, holding right hands. It just doesn’t work. The only way for it to work is if you are facing the person.
One of my favorite things in the Bible is John’s breathtaking description of the throne room in Heaven, found in Revelation 4.
If you want to know where God is…
God is in Heaven.
If you want to know where Jesus is…
Jesus is sitting beside Him on His right side. He talks to God about us. (John 17:9, 15-17) I can just imagine the conversation that might have been taking place recently as we’d been praying for a car for my son. I just imagine Jesus saying, “You know they’ve been praying a while about this car, let’s bless them with one.” And God did! He provided just the right car in the right time and the means to buy it!
I teach children at church and often see them pointing to Heaven when they think about God. We do it to, don’t we? Have you ever said, “God is watching,” and pointed skyward. He is watching. He is in Heaven. But, He left Himself here on earth, too, in the person of the Holy Spirit.
The Bible tells us in John 14:26, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”
Help
Teach
Remind
These three verbs from the verse tell us about the Holy Spirit. And since we’ve established that for God to hold our right hand with His, we must be face to face, I visualize that in these ways.
- I think about us holding right hands as He helps me, like when Peter looked down at those waves and Jesus reached out His hand and caught him. (Matthew 14:22-33)
- I think about us holding right hands as He gently prods me forward, like a parent teaching a child to walk.
- I think about us holding right hands in an epic handshake – super strong and close – reminding me who He is and assuring me He’s there.
What a beautiful thing it is to remember how very near our God is. His eyes are on you and you be sure to set your gaze on Him. He loves you so. He’s holding your right hand – with His!