The Lord Holds Your Hand
If you have a number of young children, you will know that going anywhere is no small feat. The things you need to take with you, apart from the small humans, are almost endless. A picnic in the park will see you needing food, chairs, hats, water bottles, scooters, sporting equipment, spare clothing/nappies….and possibly more. And as the adult, you will probably become the ‘pack horse’. You know, the one who has to carry all the stuff.
I remember many a Saturday morning heading off to watch our eldest play cricket (he was maybe 9 at the time). Often my husband (the coach) and son would go to the game early which left me with 2 small children and a toddler to bring to the game. I’m sure you can picture the scene. It’s probably happened to you. There’s me (the pack horse) loaded up with multiple chairs, an esky with food for everyone and a bag with hopefully enough stuff to keep everyone entertained for 4 hours. And there’s my small children, each one holding maybe their hat or a small toy.
Often the path from the car to the cricket field wasn’t exactly smooth or direct. There’d be multiple steps, long un-mowed grass, ant hills, steep inclines and rocks. Looking back now, I’m not sure how I managed to stay on my feet some days.
I wonder if you sometimes feel like this. Maybe you’re not carrying other people’s stuff around but you are carrying other people’s expectations? Or maybe you’re carrying guilt for things you’ve done in the past? Or perhaps you sometimes feel that following God is a heavy, impossible task? Do you feel like He’s just waiting for you to stumble and fall?
Take comfort in the following words, my friend.
The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand. Psalm 27:23,24
God is not punitive. He doesn’t look to burden us with a heavy load and then wait to watch us fall. The Psalmist gives us a view of God as the one who delights in us, has our backs when we stumble or mess up, holds us by the hand, and is our firm support in difficult times. This is a vision of God who willingly receives our confession, extends forgiveness and grace, and provides what we need.
Amen
Caroline
