YOU NEVER KNOW: Yesterday I asked for Prayer. The response and coverage for Cpr-3 has been tremendous. We need it. One response that I know will encourage you. It comes from a dear friend from the opposite side of our Country: It is lengthy, but worth your read.
Yesterday I reached out to the Body of Christ with these words:
I am SO praying TODAY. Too often at the risk of ‘guarding’ our organizations or churches we do not ask for HELP when we should. Haiti and CPR-3 needs your Prayers. A virus is spreading and just making our people and pastors and staff feel achy and feverish. Some of our Pastors are feeling under attack. We have a real enemy. I leave on Friday to try to encourage. Today I sit, feeling helpless and then, BOOM. Duh! “Isaiah 41:13 For I am the Lord your God, who is holding your right hand, saying unto you, Fear Not, I Will Help You.” Cling To It. Greater is He that is in us than ‘he’ that is in the world.
Today I receive this word:
Hey brother – You probably don’t remember this, but you left us a Thank You card once after staying with us, and below your name you wrote “Isaiah 41:13”. Of course I looked it up right away and have since held this truth near and dear. I often tell people about it when I’m asked about scripture that is meaningful to me. Here’s what i tell them: A pastor friend of mine shared Isaiah 41:13 several years ago. I love the picture it paints…
“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.”
A short passage, but amazingly reassuring. If you break it down into its sections, you see it holds incredible truth and power:
“For I am the Lord your God”: He is the Almighty, in control of All things. And He is MY God. I have freely accepted Him and given Him my life. It is His to watch over and care for.
“Who takes hold of your right hand”: From the day I asked Him into my heart He took hold of me, and He guides me where He wants me to go. His grip will never slip. No one and nothing can pull me out of His eternal grasp.
“And says to you, Do not fear, I will help you”: God speaks to me, am I listening? He says “Do not fear” 365 times in His Word, so He is telling us everyday of every year that our assurance is in Him and we just need to rest in that.
I know each of us can vividly remember and testify to at least one time when we felt there was no way we could make it through a situation that loomed overwhelmingly fearful in our lives, and then on the other side of it, we absolutely knew it was Him, and only Him that got us through.
Now, when I feel the anxiety creeping up, which can be triggered by many things, I picture Jesus literally squeezing my right hand tightly and saying, “Hey, did you forget? I’m right here. Lets roll”. I want to thank you Dan for exposing me to this incredible piece of the rock that I continually stand on. I am literally eternally grateful. My prayers are with you and CPR-3
Your encouragement with God’s truth is eternal and far reaching!