He Holds Your Hand

“For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you'” (Isaiah 41:13 ESV).

As an Army brat, I had the privilege of living in some great and interesting places. Among them was the three years spent on the Hawaiian Island of Oahu.  I was in 4th, 5th, and 6th grade at the time. While living in Hawaii conjures up images of paradise, and rightly so, it also comes with risks.

My little sister is 5 years younger than I am. I was much too grown to want to hold hands with my parents, but thankfully my sister wasn’t.

We were on a family outing on Oahu’s north shore. Known for it’s great surfing, it also was fraught with dangers like undertow and riptides. We were walking along the beach, enjoying the day when a wave that was larger than average came up farther on the shore. The strong pull of the wave took the sand from under my sister’s feet and began to pull her out to sea.

Fortunately, she was holding our father’s hand.

We face things every day that have danger–driving, flying, bike riding, even bathing! While we may not think of ourselves as particularly brave or daring, we take risks all day, every day.

Yet for some reason sharing our faith is too scary. Taking a moral stand despite strong opposition (think Paul telling Peter that he was wrong–Galatians 2:11-16) , going out of our way to help a stranger (think Good Samaritan), being vulnerable about our story with someone who could benefit from our experience, all of these things are frightening. But we deem it much less of a risk to drive 70 mph down the interstate… during a blizzard!

The great news is that in receiving Christ with child-like faith we have once again received the right to boldly hold our Father’s hand. He is reaching out to you right now! Whatever circumstances you may be facing, whether they be secular or faith related, Our Father is holding out His hand. The love in His eyes and the smile of approval on his face speak to us, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you”.