Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: (Isaiah 59:1)

Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments: (Exodus 6:6)

The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. (Deuteronomy 33:27a)

Moreover concerning the stranger, which is not of thy people Israel, but is come from a far country for thy great name’s sake, and thy mighty hand, and thy stretched out arm; if they come and pray in this house; (2 Chronicles 6:32)

With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the Lord our God to help us, and to fight our battles. And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah king of Judah. (2 Chron. 32:8)

For they got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them: but thy right hand, and thine arm, and the light of thy countenance, because thou hadst a favour unto them. (Psalm 44:3)

O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever…with a strong hand, and with a stretched out arm: for his mercy endureth for ever. (Psalm 136)

If we cannot trust the arm of flesh, then where can we turn? With beautiful imagery, our all-sufficient, Creator God offers His strength, His justice, and His provision by the promise of His stretched-out arm. Consider some human examples of a stretched out arm: Maybe a man leaning over the side of a boat, stretching his arm out to grasp the hand of one gasping and clawing at the water’s surface? Or an arm stretched over the edge of a cliff, providing a handhold to one who has lost his grip? Perhaps a hand stretched out in friendship or an arm reached high to help another whose arm is too short? Add all these examples together, and they are still arms of flesh. But the stretched-out arm of the Lord our God! It is a promise to meet all our human needs- but with the power of God. How amazing!

And beyond all that, the promise of redemption, for Isaiah 53 begins with these words, “Who hath believed our report? And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground:” The stretched-out arm of the Lord is revealed in the person of Jesus Christ- the salvation of our souls.

My dear friends, our lives can be ordered, scheduled, and structured. But it is possible for the hidden man of the heart to topple in a moment, spiritually out-of-balance, when we reach too often for the visible, temporal help rather than the invisible stretched-out arm. God’s great arm delivered His people from Egypt’s bondage, extended to the Gentile, showcased His enduring mercy, and sent His only Son. Lean on that arm.

We must remember Whose world this is, Whose waves these are, and in Whose promises we rest.