"I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee -" Isaiah 41:13

This promise of God, for our whole Christian experience originated with God; it was His work that started it, and it will be His work which will complete it, and keep us all the time from the start at Calvary's cross to the crown in His presence.

A very striking word in Hebrews 8:9 tells us that in Old Testament days, God took His people by the hand, to lead them out of the land of Egypt. It is a lovely phrase...."He took them by the hand" Everything went well, as he took them by the hand and made a covenant with them.

But they broke that covenant. They became tired of being held by the hand, and they stopped reaching up to God, although God was still reaching down.

And so the children of Israel stumbled into the wilderness. And that will happen to you and I if you get tired of reaching up, and miss the hand that is reaching down to take yours and lead you. "He led them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt," and the same hand would have led them into Canaan in eleven days - but you know the rest of the story, and of their wanderings in the wilderness.

God is saying to you today, I want to do, personally with you in all the days that lie ahead, what I began to do then for my Old Testament people: "I will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not: I will help thee"

Amen. Thank you for this.