August 7, 2000
CYBERCOLUMN:
Strengthen, help and uphold
___By Berry D. Simpson
___ "I was out running and working on this verse, Isaiah 41:10, which says: "Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand."
___ I always have trouble memorizing verses like this. I get the list out of sequence. I have trouble remembering to say "strengthen," "help" and "uphold" in the correct order.
___ Typically, I use a memory tool, such as noticing that the sequence is in alphabetical order, or reverse alphabetical order, or small words to big words, or something like that.
BERRY SIMPSON
___ However, none of those worked for this verse, and for about a mile, every time I recited this verse to myself I got the three words in different order.
___ About halfway into the run, it finally occurred to me that this was a progressive list. It ranged from less intensive to more intensive; less hands-on to more hands-on.
___ God STRENGTHENS us. Most often, he strengthens me by revealing an insight into his word, a subtle new way of looking at an old familiar verse, or even a brand-new concept. Sometimes, he strengthens me through something I read by Philip Yancey or C.S. Lewis. I learn something that helps me cope with another day of life, helps me learn and serve and minister. Those insights are cumulative. Each one adds to the last, and each makes me a little stronger.
___ As a parent, I think about this as the times when I made my kids stronger. Maybe I did it by teaching them to look both ways before crossing the street, or teaching them how to read, or be polite to grown-ups. Or maybe teaching a teenager how to drive, or the importance of showing up at work on time. Teaching those things strengthens our kids by giving them the skills and tools they'll need to live productive and godly lives.
___ God also HELPS us. There are times when strengthening is not enough. Sometimes we need actual help from God. He says, in Isaiah 41:10, that surely he will help us.
___ God helps me most often by sending other Christians to speak to me. I'll hear a sermon or a message or a personal word from someone (quite often, from my wife, Cyndi), with solid advice about what I should do next. It's always a shock to me to find how inadequate I am to solve the puzzles of my own life. God helps me often, and after I get over the shock of my own inadequacy, I realize how much I need people that God sends my way.
___ For parents, strengthening our children isn't always enough. Sometimes they need help. Teaching table manners is important, but sometimes we need to cut up their meat for them. Teaching kids to look both ways is important, but sometimes we need to grab their little hands and help them across the street. And so, sometimes God gives us hands-on help.
___ And finally, God UPHOLDS us. He said, "Surely I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." Sometimes it isn't enough for parents to teach children to look both ways or hold their hand. Sometimes the kids fall down and get hurt, and we run across the street, pick them up and carry them back home in our arms.
___ I need that from God a lot. I get hurt, and I need someone to carry me back home in his arms.
___ Recently, I was at a worship service where the minister reminded us that worship was always a choice. It was a matter of our will, not our heart. It was a timely message I needed to hear. Robert, the minister sent by God to uphold me, took away my excuses, and God used his message to peel away the layers of worry and fret and expose my heart.
___ I was embarrassed to have allowed the concerns of my daily life and worries block my way to God, and all I could pray was: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" God held me up. He intervened and held me up with his righteous right hand.
___ God wants us to grow up in him, to become strong and mature believers. So sometimes he has to let us fail, to fall down and get hurt, in order for us to remember we need him.
___ I was out running not long ago, and God used the opportunity to strengthen me, to help me and to uphold me with his righteous right hand. Isn't the word of God rich?
___ Berry Simpson is a petroleum engineer, writer, runner and Sunday School teacher at First Baptist Church in Midland.
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