Holding On
I have two grandchildren and they are a delight. Not that I am biased in any way! My grandson is 3 now and quite the little chatterbox. He is bright, and imaginative and sweet natured (most of the time). My granddaughter is just over a year old, and is already developing her own, very different character. She gives you such a hard stare at times it makes you want to crumple. I think she’s going to be a feisty one!
She is trying to walk now and wants to be on her feet all the time. She stands and takes tentative steps holding onto things, but has not yet been brave enough to try to walk on her own unaided. When she wants to move from one spot to another, instead of crawling, she will look around for someone she trusts and hold out her hand. If one of us responds to her, offering her our hand, she will use it to steady herself as she stands and then will walk with you to where she wants to go. She doesn’t walk anywhere without holding on to the hand of someone stronger and steadier than herself.
His Hand
It made me think of how I am with God. I know He is there, and I know He is infinitely stronger than me. He loves me unconditionally and I can trust Him fully. His wisdom is unsearchable. His guidance, His understanding and His protection are there for my safety. I know all this and yet sometimes I forge ahead in life, without waiting to take a hold of His hand first.
His hand offers me strength but is also is there to direct me. If I am walking close to Him, close enough to hold onto Him, then I will not stumble, fall or step off the path that He wants me to walk on. As the song says ‘He will hold me fast’.[1]
When I am feeling unsteady, weak, vulnerable, unsure of myself, it is perhaps natural to hold out my hand to God and ask Him to help me. But what about when I am doing well? When I feel confident, strong, in control? I wonder even in those times if God is still waiting patiently for me to reach out a trusting hand. How often have I set out on a path, without thinking of reaching out for Him first?
Close enough to Hold His Hand
There will come a day, very soon probably, when my granddaughter will find she can take steps on her own. When she will stop looking for a hand to hold on to. We call it growing up. We will applaud and celebrate it as an important milestone in her development.
But didn’t Jesus ask us to have child-like faith?[2] The faith that trusts without question in the one we know loves us. The kind of faith that knows we can’t walk through life on our own without risk of falling, or being led astray. His hand is strong enough for us to hold on to in every season, good and bad. He desires that intimacy, that connection.
And I need to remember that I am better walking close enough with Him that His hand is always within easy reach of mine.
Joy Margetts is a published author and blogger. Her books are works of Christian Historical fiction. Set in medieval Wales against the backdrop of Cistercian abbey life, they tell stories of faith, hope and God’s redemptive power. Her debut novel ‘The Healing‘ was published by Instant Apostle on 19 March 2021.
‘The Pilgrim‘, her second full length novel, was published by Instant Apostle on 22 July 2022, and her third novel, ‘The Bride‘, published on 20th October 2023. Her first non-fiction book, an Advent Devotional, ‘Christ Illuminated‘ was published in September 2023.
More information on Joy, and her books can be found here
[1] Keith and Kristin Getty, ‘He will hold me fast’