WORD STUDY – HOLD
Isaiah 41:13: “For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.”
Hold – Hebrew: chazak – Strengthen, confirm, restore.
Various translations will say that God “upholds” your right hand, some will say he “takes” your right hand and some will say “strengthen” your right hand.  The word “hold” is “chazak” in Hebrew which means to strengthen, confirm or restore.   I like the word restore.   God will restore our strength and power.  Still, that does not fully explain chazak.  Chazak is to have your strength restored or renewed by the addition of His strength.  Like chopping wood, he grabs the ax with you and the combination of your strength and His makes the job seem effortless.
Yet, the passage says the “Lord your God.”   The word “lord” is Jehovah.   You have God addressed as “Jehovah” and “Elohim.”  Both the feminine and masculine traits are present when he restores our strength.  Jehovah is in the feminine and is used when speaking of God’s feminine nature, his gentleness, nurturing, and caring.  Elohim is masculine and represents God’s masculine nature, protection, provision and sheltering. Plus, the word for “hold” or “strengthen” is a hiphal participle.    So it is not that He will, but he is at this moment bringing about events that will strengthen and encourage us.  At this moment his hand is also on the ax that you are swinging. We are receiving a continual infusion of strength and power from God but in a gentle Jehovah motherly way and in the “on your feet be a man” Elohim fatherly way.
God knows just what it is we need and when we need it.  Sometimes we get so beaten down that He needs to come to us in a tender way, wiping our tears away and speaking gently to us to restore our strength.  Other times we just get to feeling sorry for ourselves and start rolling around in our self-pity such that God has to slap us across the face in a “thanks I needed that” sort of way.
Either way, we need not fear for he does promise to “help” us. Help is the word “azar,” which is more than just help, it is someone partnering with you in a project and working with you each step of the way from start to finish.  Azar is in a perfect tense; actually it is in a form which is past, present and future.  He has been, He is and He will be helping us.
No matter what we are going through, sickness, financial difficulties, relationship problems, he has promised in Isaiah 41:13 to join with us, partner with us in that struggle and to give us a continual infusion of His strength and power.  If we really believe this, and meditate on it, we need never be afraid.