Comfort
I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness;
I will take hold of your hand.
I will keep you and will make you
to be a covenant for the people
and a light for the Gentiles,
Isaiah 42:6 (NIV)
Isaiah 42:1-9
STORY
Actress Ann Jillian appeared in 25 films, mostly for television. Her best-known role was for the TV program It’s a Living which premiered in 1985. She came to the forefront with the 1988 movie The Ann Jillian Story, which chronicled her battle with breast cancer. The actress struggle with cancer and her resulting double mastectomy was much publicized. The inducement for Ann’s openness was to encourage and support others who were enduring a similar ailment.
Ann’s husband, Andy, extended the same sympathy to the public. His sentiment was best expressed in a comment he made after viewing President Reagan on television. The newscast showed the President lugging a potted plant to his wife Nancy, a patient at Bethesda Naval Hospital, who also had a mastectomy. Observing Ronald Reagan’s concern for his beloved spouse, Andy concurred, “I felt sorry for him simply a guy, just like you and me. He may be the President of the United States, but at that moment he was a husband worried about his wife.”
DEVOTION
There is often a single line of scripture in a biblical text that captures one’s heart. Verse 6 in Isaiah 42 is just one line among many lines of scripture in that chapter. Though, verse six is often referenced as it is an especially poignant as a verse of comfort for those in distress. As with so many verses that seem to stand on their own because of their spiritual potency, we like to lift the passage out and allow it to live singularly as our own testimony of faith and hope. Often we lift the verse up and use it out of context; yet, we do so, understandably, because the verse has such extraordinary meaning for us. One special line that speaks to everyone who is experiencing some form of anguish or difficulty is Isaiah 42:6, “I will take hold of your hand.”
So, as Andy observed, be we a President or a commoner, we all seek the same comforting presence from our Lord.
Points to Ponder
> Share a particular incident when God held your hand?
o For me: God has held my hand many times. I can relate one particular incident when a nurse performed the role of God’s hand holder. I was a teenager having outpatient surgery. This was a new and strange experience for me, causing me extreme anxiety. During the procedure, the surgeon aware of my apprehension, asked a nurse to come and hold my hand, which she did.
> In what ways does God hold your hand?
o For me: There are a number of ways that God makes his comforting presence known to me: the indwelling of the Holy Spirit; the presence of Christian friends; remembering a special Bible verse; recalling a traditional hymn; memories of what God has done for me in the past.
> Have you held the hand of others?
o For me: I have held the hands of others many times. This was especially true when I was a pastor and I would sit with someone as they awaited death, and I was there when their spirit departed and ascended to heaven.
Please share other Points to Ponder so I can update my list
Please share your thoughts with me – if you desire I will publish them for others to read anonymously or first name only or your entire name as you choose