The book of Isaiah contains many beautiful promises, but none more reassuring than the one found in Isaiah 41:10: “I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” The prophet is looking into the future, to the days when the Assyrian Empire has toppled and the Babylonian captivity is almost at an end. They would be dark and difficult days when the promises of God would look as though they had been forsaken. As the context of the promise makes clear, many would be fearful and dismayed. “Where is God’s promise?” Isaiah knew they would wonder. The answer? Where it has always been—safe in the bosom of almighty God. Israel would have no need to fear, for God had chosen her; the Israelites were descendants of Abraham, whom God calls “my friend” (Isa. 41:8).

In the sixth century BC, the period that Isaiah foresaw, the redemptive purposes of God looked as though they had been abandoned. Jerusalem had been ransacked and the temple destroyed. Thousands were taken into Babylonian captivity, never to see Jerusalem again. It was a dark time. But in that darkness, Israel could hear the reassuring word of a prophet who foresaw this period of history. God will strengthen you and uphold you amid the gloom. You will find your strength in Him. In the best of times, we are feeble, but our strength comes from our covenantal relationship to Jesus Christ: “Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might,” Paul exhorted the Ephesian Christians (Eph. 6:10). Our strength comes from remembering and trusting God’s Word: “Strengthen me according to your word!” (Ps. 119:28). Amid our weakness, God reassures us of His power and greatness to overcome our fears, to shine light into the darkness, to lift “drooping hands” and strengthen “weak knees” (Heb. 12:12).

God promises to uphold His people with His “righteous right hand.” With apologies to left-handed folk, Scripture denotes the right hand as the hand of power. But why “righteous right hand”? Because God will always do the right thing. He will keep His word.

In Ephesians 3, Paul informs his readers of a request that he is making in their behalf:

I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being. (Eph. 3:14–16)

It is the ministry of the Holy Spirit “in the inner being” to strengthen us for the battle that lies ahead. “Lord, I have no strength in me to fight the good fight. In the words of the hymn writer: ‘Prone to wander—Lord, I feel it—prone to leave the God I love.’ Holy Spirit, renew me, strengthen me, cause Your Word to dwell richly in me. Help me to always look to Christ, to hold on to Him day by day—until the day breaks and the shadows flee away. Amen.”