The Psalmist is speaking for God and states:

“Don’t be afraid, I am with you. Don’t be dismayed, I am your God; I will be your strength, I will help you, I will hold you up by my righteous hand.”

How many times in life could we use this reminder?

How many times a day could I use this reminder?

To be afraid here is to be filled with dread, to the point of trembling. I have known that kind of fear…more than once. A fear that is surrounds and consumes from within. A fear that is debilitating…leaving me dead in my tracks. A fear that confounds and dismays…leaving me confused and without the strength to move forward.

The word dismayed had me stumped but it carries the idea of simply being stuck, confused, unable to move forward…or at minimum move out of the current situation - it’s the classic deer in the headlights and God says “don’t just stand there…I am your God and I got you!”

God says that he help strengthen me; I will make you bold, strong, alert and able to stand stout! I love that word “stout” - it makes me think of a good strong stout that is able to stand on it’s own…and also able to deliver great flavor and presence.

God continues to communicate that he will uphold me; I will support you, I will help you attain greatness and achieve all that you have been called to do, all that you were created to do.

This verse often gets passed over quickly, due to my familiarity with it, but it is full of some great truths that I need today…in this moment. I often find myself dismayed by life, beaten down, afraid to move because I have “learned my lesson” that when I step out in faith there is someone there ready to take me out…but God is saying not to give up or give in but to keep going and to look to Him, to trust in Him, to rest in Him because He is with me.

Be with me today God…be with me today.