We live on a backcountry road in Smalltown, America. While our road isn’t dirt, it is definitely a quiet road to live on and just might possibly have been the last road in the county to have been paved. So some days after my kids get home from school and have unloaded their book bags, eaten a snack (because if you are a mother or caretaker of children of any age, you know that snacks are of the utmost importance to survival!!) and have gotten their homework done, it not unusual for my girls and me to head out on a short walk before the supper preparations begin.
As we stroll down the road, it usually looks a little bit like this: my littles are doing cartwheels, roundoffs, skipping, or running down the road and my oldest daughter is walking beside me telling me every minute detail of her day (which I LOVE, I might add, as long as I can stay tuned and focused with all of the “Mom, watch!” and “Look at me, Mom!”s coming at me). Our walk is not typically very long, but it is a great way to burn some energy and renew our spirits from the rigorous day of school and work.
One of my very favorite parts of the walk, though, is when one of my girls quietly slips her hand into mine and walks beside me. If you asked what my love language is, I would never ever tell you that it is physical touch, but there is something precious about one of my children grasping my hand and holding on. I love the feel of their soft hands. It makes my heart swell that they are choosing to hold on to me. It makes me want to protect them and take care of them. If any one of my children grab my hand, these emotions come rushing in, threatening to flood my heart with love for my children.
Our God Who created us, our children, walks down the road and hand holding, wants to hold our hands too. He wants us to slip our palm into His. He tells us that outright. He doesn’t say, “Maybe I will hold your hand.” He says, “For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand.” He’ll do it! He promised us He will. Just like m y little girls can just press their hand into mine, we can do the same to God’s. His arm is already there, extended out to us, waiting for us to grab hold. We don’t have to ask. We don’t have to beg. We don’t have to wait for Him to get done doing some chore or to finish up a project so that we can hold His hand. It is there, waiting for us.
In our verse for today, God tells us that He will hold our right hand. In our right-hand-dominated society, I believe that even all these years later, this has a huge significance spiritually. Even if you are a left-handed person, there are still important things that you are forced to do with your right hand. For example starting your car and putting it into gear, opening public doors and the refrigerator (let’s be honest, this is probably the most important, right here!!), pull-starting any type of machine and using the mouse on your desktop computer.
So, if we are right-handed or left, if God is holding our right hand, what does that mean for us?
What happens when someone is holding your hand? When someone is holding our hand, suddenly that hand is incapable. It is out of commission. We can no longer use it until we let go. Oh, we can try, and sometimes we can get a task accomplished, but it becomes much more difficult to do and definitely awkward, and it for sure takes longer to do. It is easier just to wait until your hand is free. My dear friends, this is NOT the case if God is holding our hand. In fact, it is the complete opposite. If God is holding our hand, He becomes the strength that we have lost by giving up our right hand. He is our power! It’s affirmation to the verse in 2 Corinthians 12:9 where Paul writes, “for my strength is made perfect in weakness.” When we’ve become weak because we can’t use our hand because we are holding tightly onto the Father’s hand, God fills in for that weakness, and now, now, sweet Sister, we are stronger than ever! When we give up our strength and we lean into our Heavenly Father, He will help us. We don’t have to be afraid, because that’s exactly what He tells us.
I think that some of you probably live on terrain where you can stand in one spot and see for miles and miles. You live in wide open spaces where you can see a car long before it is near you, an intersection that is a long way off, or you can drive straight without having to take a curve in the road for daaaaayyyyzzzz.
In the part of Ohio where we live, taking a walk or a drive down the road requires you to proceed with caution because you don’t go very far before you have reached another hill or a curve or both simultaneously. At this stage in their lives, I am still much taller than my daughters (not for long though…insert tears right here!). Because of my height, I can see farther than they can when we are walking down the road. When we approach a hill, I am able to see if there is a car coming more quickly than they can. If my daughter is holding my hand, I can guide her towards the safety of the side of the road if I see danger coming. I can pull her back if she gets too far out of the boundaries that I have set for them when we walk. I can be her eyes, ears and voice of reason when she simply cannot because of her smallness.
Ladies, when we hold God’s hand, He does the same for us. We can’t see that far down the road of life. We can’t see the intersections that are up ahead. We can’t always see all of the vehicles that are coming our way or what is around the bend. But God can. If we are holding His hand and letting Him be our strength, He can warn us. He can gently guide us when He feels like we are going too far the wrong direction. He can softly chasten us when we are drifting too close to a place where we might be smashed by oncoming traffic. He, in all of His bigness, can be our eyes, ears, and voice of reason when we simply cannot because of our smallness. Our God is so big and infinite. He can see what is ahead. And because we are holding His hand and He has become our strength, we don’t have to be afraid; we do not have to see around the corner or where the intersection is or if a vehicle is coming because God will lead!
If we have given our hand to God, we can live like we are strolling in vast open spaces even if the walk is very bendy with rolling hills, trusting He is our strength for this walk we call Life.
Anne is the wife of Dave and mother to Jude, Aysha, Aliya, Aspyn and Amyah. She is also a teacher. She is a creamer with some coffee guru. She is a fan of coffee dates with her friends, especially her kindred spirits. She enjoys reading a good book, fiction or non-fiction, when she has some time. Quiet time with God and a good cup of coffee is one of her favorite parts of the day.