“I…Will Hold Thine Hand”

Yesterday, I wrote about the importance of acknowledging our vulnerability and recognizing God’s supremacy. While it is true that God is infinitely more powerful than us, that truth is balanced by His boundless love for us. Here are a few expressions of God’s love found in Isaiah 40-49:

• “Fear not; I will help thee” (Isaiah 41:13).
• “I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee” (Isaiah 42:6).
• “I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine” (Isaiah 43:1).
• “I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee” (Isaiah 44:22).
• “I will carry, and will deliver you” (Isaiah 46:4).
• “Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee” (Isaiah 49:15, 1 Nephi 21:15).

Elder Patrick Kearon shared several of these statements in our most recent general conference and added, “Imagine the Lord speaking these words to you…because they are for you” (“He Is Risen with Healing in His Wings: We Can Be More Than Conquerors,” General Conference, April 2022).

Unfathomable though it may be, we can always count on God’s love for us. As He testified in another passage, we are “precious and honored” in His sight (Isaiah 43:4, NIV).

Today, I will remember God’s love for all of us. I will remember that He has promised to help me, to hold my hand, to blot out my mistakes, and even to carry me. I also will remember His assurance that He will never, ever forget me. I will take confidence from these expressions of love and move forward with faith in Him.