I have always loved the idea of divine Love holding our hands. Isa. 41:13 “I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.” It speaks to the promise of God’s ever-present help. It brings to mind how a little child instinctively reaches for his/her parent’s hand. That childlike trust that the parent is there to hold their hand right when they need it is something that reminds me about our trust of God. A child doesn’t spend time considering whether their parent will be there to hold their hand. They don’t worry that the parent won’t be there for them when they reach up. They just do it because the child knows their parent is near and won’t leave them. Sometimes the child will reach up because they might be afraid or apprehensive about something and by that simple act of reaching up and holding that parent’s hand that thought is calmed and, as so many of us have witnessed with little ones, there’s no discussion about whether their parent loves them enough or thinks they’re worthy or whether the parent can provide that security.
Isn’t that what we need to do as adults, to have that trust that God is present and will “hold” our hand? It’s such a simple thing to do, yet it seems that so much of the time we question or don’t even think to consider whether God is governing every aspect of our lives. It’s a lesson to me about how we can trust God to be there for us at all times as we are walking down the road of life. Having that childlike trust is something that we need to have instead arguing or doubting that God loves us. God is Love and God loves each and every child of His. Childlike receptivity is something that we can all have. It is not a blind faith, but a simple trust.
I remember an experience that I had that reassured me of God’s ever-present love. Several years ago during a stressful time in my life I started feeling sorry for myself because of money troubles, job stress, and issues with our adolescent children. I was waiting for my son to finish his soccer practice and I decided to take a walk on the park’s walking path. I have to admit that for the first half of the walk I was grumbling along. Then, at one point, I said to myself “I have nothing” and immediately the message came to me, “you have me.” It was just like cold water had been splashed in my face! Of course, I realized then, “Right, I do have God.” That was the simple idea that me off on the right track and for the rest of the walk I was able to see all the wonderful things I had to be grateful for including the simple fact that I had God by my side. The more gratitude I expressed the more I was able to see the good that was already going on in my experience. As a result, I was filled with such joy! That experience was also the starting point for resolution of all the challenging things going on in our family’s life. We were able to see solutions and I was able to correct our family’s thought regarding these items.
This example of God’s ever-presence has stayed with me throughout the years and, along with this photo, I have that reminder that God will hold our hands. So..reach up! God’s already with you as you walk down your path of life.