10 Do not fear, for I am with you, do not be afraid, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand. … 13 For I, the LORD your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Do not fear, I will help you.”
– Isaiah 41:10, 13, NRSV
In its “Dove Promises” line of chocolates, the Mars candy corporation wraps each deliciously silky piece in feel-good foil, with each wrapper bearing an inspirational message or quote. Today’s chocolate?
I don’t usually pay much attention to the words inside my Dove chocolates. I’m not one for fortune cookie wisdom. But as I read this one, my first thought was: “That sounds like something we used to say before COVID-19.”
It’s true, isn’t it? Even now, as I read that quote, I start to reach for the hand sanitizer. Coronavirus has changed the way I think about hands. Hand-holding and hand-shaking and high-fiving feel strange, like vestiges from some bygone era. They’ve been replaced by redoubled handwashing, regular hand sanitizing, and socially-distant hand waving. In two months’ time, the only hands I’ve touched belong to my husband, my daughter, and my son.
Has our world truly changed so drastically? Are hands no longer meant to be held?
Just as that foreboding thought forms, Isaiah comes to the rescue. “Do not be afraid,” we read, the words of the Lord through the pen of a prophet. “I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you… for I, the LORD your God, hold your right hand” (Isaiah 41:10, 13, NRSV).
I, the LORD your God, hold your right hand.
Hands are still meant to be held, church. God is not letting go of your hands or mine.
Hold on to that. After all:
Our God is bigger than coronavirus.
Our vision is bigger than coronavirus, too.
We are people blessing people.
We are Wesley Church.
Blessings,
Pastor Candy
Want to know more?
- Learn about our church and its ministries: https://wesleychurch.com/
- Make a gift to support our mission: https://wesleychurch.com/giving-2/
- View our recent messages: https://wesleychurch.com/sermon-message-on-video/
- View previous devotionals: https://wesleychurch.com/pastor-candys-devotionals-2/
