{"id":9566,"date":"2024-01-14T03:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-01-14T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/?p=9566"},"modified":"2024-01-01T10:57:54","modified_gmt":"2024-01-01T15:57:54","slug":"9566","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/2024\/01\/14\/9566\/","title":{"rendered":"Held Tight"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Five-minute read.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even there your hand will guide me, Your right hand\u00a0will hold me fast. <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Psalm 139:10<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Held tight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our excellent Comforter holds us in His hand.  God leads and guides us, like a father walking with their child.  My heart rejoices when I see parents holding their children\u2019s hands.  Friends of ours with five little blessings running around their feet always have a hand attached to one of their kids.  Seeing them in church on Sunday mornings uplifts and encourages my heart as they prioritize gathering with other believers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Ron holds my hand, I instantly feel a sense of comfort and security.  When we first started dating, we played on a tennis team together.  Partnered in doubles, we met on the tennis court.  Before a match, we had dinner at a nearby restaurant one night.  Walking to the courts, we held hands, but Ron dropped my hand as soon as we saw the team.  No one knew about our newly formed relationship, and my Honey didn\u2019t know if I wanted them to know, so he erred on the side of caution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eleven years later, I still feel the instant rejection of his hand leaving mine.  Of course, we worked through the issue.  But God never drops our hands.  Constantly in touch with us, the Lord holds on tight.  Just like my friends with their children, tightly grasping their hands as crowds of people move around them, not wanting them to get lost in the crowd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I move through my days, I take comfort in knowing the Lord\u2019s got me.  I envision myself held in His hand, protected from the world around me, holding me tight.  Our Creator protects His creation.  Bad things come into our lives, but the Lord helps us navigate those times, leading us to solid ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGod never gives us more than we can handle,\u201d a friend told me.  In the past three years, my friend has had one difficulty after another.  COVID\u2019s shutdown began financial issues that cascaded into all areas of life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve changed my opinion on that,\u201d I responded.  For many years, I believed the same thing, but one day, I realized that God gives us more than we can handle.  When we can no longer do life alone, the Lord meets us and picks up the slack.  In our weakness, God\u2019s strength carries us.  If God intended us to do life alone, He wouldn\u2019t have sent Jesus.  And He wouldn\u2019t hold our hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While watching T.V. at night, Ron will lay his hand beside mine to hold it.  One gesture conveys so much love to me without saying any words.  Holding hands and connecting with another person comforts the soul effortlessly and communicates affection.  Your Lord and Savior clings to your hand.  His warmth and energy constantly flowing into you.  Never leaving or forsaking us, God\u2019s presence in our life reassures, comforts, strengthens, and carries us.  We don\u2019t face life alone; we face it with the Lord.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Standing tall beside us, God holds our hand and helps us navigate the world.  One day, He will call us heavenly, but until then, the Lord walks with us, holding on tight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Application:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

God holds our hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recently, I had one of those days.  Everything seemed to go wrong, and nothing I planned to do went as anticipated.  The printer refusing to print made me want to pull my hair out.  Then, I thought of God and His presence.  Instead of letting the frustration reign, I thought of the Lord with me in the moment and began to ask myself what I could learn from this situation.  As I centered my thoughts on God, I realized instead of letting myself get lost in anger, I could trust in Him, understanding that none of these issues would matter in a day, but my relationship with the Lord would.  Holding me in His hand, God guided me to a better attitude and acceptance of the things I cannot change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Holding my hand, God guides me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Journaling Questions:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    \n
  1. What do you picture when you think of God holding your hand?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. How do you find comfort knowing God never lets go of you?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. What direction do you feel the Lord taking you today?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Prayer:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Lord, forgive us for resisting Your guidance.  Let us feel Your hand in ours as we follow You today.  Allow Your comfort to surround us as we face life\u2019s travel.  Give us confidence in Your presence as we cling to You.  Strengthen our belief as we admit our weaknesses and allow Your strength to carry us.  IJNIP. Amen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Five-minute read. Even there your hand will guide me, Your right hand\u00a0will hold me fast. Psalm 139:10 Held tight. Our excellent Comforter holds us in His hand.  God leads and guides us, like a father walking with their child.  My heart rejoices when I see parents holding their children\u2019s hands.  Friends of ours with five… Continue reading Held Tight<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9566","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","without-featured-image"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9566","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9566"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9566\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9617,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9566\/revisions\/9617"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9566"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9566"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9566"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}