Hold Steady - Our Daily Bread ODB + Insight: 5 February 2021

Hold Steady

By Dave Branon for ODB


I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand. 

Isaiah 41:13


Read: Isaiah 41:10–13

Bible in a Year: Exodus 36–38; Matthew 23:1–22


Harriet Tubman was one of the great American heroes of the nineteenth century. Showing remarkable courage, she guided more than three hundred fellow slaves to freedom after she first escaped slavery by crossing into free territory in the United States North. Not content to simply enjoy her own freedom, she ventured back into slave states nineteen times to lead friends, family, and strangers to freedom, sometimes guiding people on foot all the way to Canada.

What drove Tubman to such brave action? A woman of deep faith, she at one time said this: “I always told God, I’m going to hold steady on you, and you’ve got to see me through.” Her dependence on God’s guidance as she led people out of slavery was a hallmark of her success.

What does it mean to “hold steady” to God? A verse in the prophecy of Isaiah might help us see that in reality it’s He who holds us as we grab His hand. Isaiah quotes God, who said, “I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you” (41:13).

Harriet held tightly to God, and He saw her through. What challenges are you facing? Hold steady to God as He “takes hold” of your hand and your life. “Do not fear.” He will help you.


What’s your biggest challenge right now? What can you do or say to let God know you trust Him?


Father in heaven, life is hard when I try to do it alone, so I need Your help. Please come alongside me in my greatest challenges and help me know I’m not alone.

Insight

In the Hebrew Scriptures, books were named for their opening words. Deuteronomy was called Devarim (“words”), representing the opening phrase of Deuteronomy 1:1: “These are the words Moses spoke.” In our Bible, books were often named for their purpose, which explains the title Deuteronomy (“second law”). Deuteronomy records a second telling of the Mosaic law, which was important for two reasons. First, the people entering the land were a different generation than the one who had received the law at Sinai forty years earlier. That generation had died in the wilderness because of their rebellion. Second, the people had been together for these four decades as one vast tribal community. Upon entry into the land, they would scatter to the parcels set aside for each of the tribes. These significant realities made a retelling of the law a timely preparation for a different way of living than they had known in the wilderness.