He holds our hand

Today’s devotion was written by one of our blogroll members, Brandi Silva. You can find out more about Brandi on her personal blog “Brandi’s Blog”…Thank you Brandi for sharing your thoughts with us today.

My 3-year old son, Luke and I were enjoying ourselves recently, hiking in the dry creek bed near our house. Hiking is one of the many outdoor activities my husband and children and I often enjoy together, living in the “woods” of the beautiful Texas Hill Country. What a blessing this place is! In the creek bed, there is one area covered mostly with small, smooth rocks that is easy to navigate over. As the hike progresses, however, the terrain suddenly changes into very large, rough boulders. Once we come to this stretch of the hike, mommy must hold little Luke’s little hand as we climb over them, to avoid him slipping and injuring a knee, an elbow, or even worse, his head!

Luke loves to pick every flower he sees, for me. He thinks they are all beautiful and that his mommy should have all of them. On this particular day, he was cherishing a dandelion he had picked and was holding it tightly in his hand. Upon reaching the rough boulders, I reached down to grab his hand but I could not get a tight grip on it. Luke had his little hand closed, like a ball around this “weed” he called a flower.

I explained to him that in order for mommy to protect him from slipping on the rocks and getting hurt, he must drop the flower and allow me to hold his hand the right way, tightly and securely. So, with some hesitation, he did what I asked and let go of what he thought was important and slipped his small hand into mine. As he watched the flower drop to the ground, in that moment, he realized it was not worth holding onto if it meant risk of injury.

It was also in that moment when the Holy Spirit spoke so clearly to my heart. He said, “This is how it is with you. You try to hold onto things that you think are beautiful and important, but I am saying, let go of those things so that I can grab your hand, tightly and securely. The path of life is full of bumpy rocks and boulders and you must allow me to hold onto you as we cross over them, together. Don’t hold so tightly to the things of this world that can get in the way of what I have for you. They are not worth it. My plan is so much better. Drop those things so you can grab onto me!”

Father knows best, doesn’t He? He is standing there, arms outstretched, in our direction. He wants us to grab on and live our life in Him, safely resting in the palm of His hand.

Psalm 73:23-28
“Yet I still belong to you; you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, leading me to a glorious destiny. Whom have I in heaven but you? I desire you more than anything on earth. My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever. Those who desert him will perish, for you destroy those who abandon you. But as for me, how good it is to be near God! I have made the Sovereign Lord my shelter, and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things you do.”

~Brandi Silva
Texas

9 thoughts on “He holds our hand

  1. Shelby

    Thank you thank you thank you. You have no idea how much I needed to read this post today. And isn’t it neat how the Lord uses the innocence and trust of children to teach us grown-up lessons?

  2. Marsha

    Brandi, I’m so thankful you shared this with us today! We all have things we think we must clutch tightly but get in the way of our Father’s protection.

    Thanks for the reminder to grab hold of Him, not what I deem important.

  3. eph2810

    There some things I hold on to very tightly, but I know that I need to let go of them.

    Thank you so much for the reminder that when He calls us to let go, to really let go…

  4. LaurieLAURIE

    Brandi, thank you for sharing with us today and what a beautiful thought to start the day with. Many times our hands are tightly clasped, holding onto things – all while God is just waiting, with hand stretched out to guide us thru the rough spots. -blessings to you.

  5. Vicki

    What a sweet reminder to hold things loosely in this world – nothing is more precious than our security in Him, and He will uphold us with His righteous right hand, the bible says. Beautiful insight…and I love that portion of the Psalms:-)

    Blessings,
    Vicki