I was so encouraged by this message by John Piper on Isaiah 41:1-10. He identifies verse 10 as the verse he has turned to more often than any other verse in the Bible when he needed courage.
“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, ESV).
John made this passage so easy to understand.
There are two commands: “Fear not” and “be not dismayed.”
There are five pillars of this command or five spatial relationships with God
- “I am with you”: He is with us
- “I am your God”: He is above us
- “I will strengthen you”: He is outside us
- “I will help you”: He is within us
- “I will uphold you with my righteous right hand”: He is under us
There are four glimpses of God in this passage that are the tinder for the explosive truth of verse 10.
- He is Lord and Judge of the nations (v. 1):
- He is the Ruler of the ruler of the nations (vv. 2-3):
- He is the Creator of the nations and the kings (4): I
- He is the Elector of His people (vv. 8-9)
You may listen to or read the whole message here.
