The Hands We Hold: Sunday Devotion #1

Nearly 40 years ago, I wrote a monthly devotional for the small church where I preached my first sermon, and I loved the study and hard work and prayer that helped me be successful at it. So, here is the first of a new series.

Psalm 44:3 It was not by their sword that they won the land, nor did their arm bring them victory; it was your right hand, your arm, and the light of your face, for you loved them.

Each day, I would get up early to walk my 8-year-old grandson to the elementary school near my home. As we neared a busy intersection, Tay would put his little hand in mine, trusting that I wouldn’t allow any harm or danger to befall him. As we cleared the intersection, he would remove his hand. He felt safe to once again walk on his own.

There is a wondrous feeling when you hold the small, vulnerable, and trusting hands of a child in your larger hands. I felt a sense of responsibility to hold those little hands tight, for kids can yank free and be in trouble in the blink of an eye. That carefulness stemmed from my unfailing love for my children and grandchildren.

Lately, the concept of the hand of God has fascinated me, mainly as it brings back memories of hearing the choir at my church sing, “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands.” Like all children, I had an active imagination, so I pictured God with huge hands, holding the world, keeping us all safe in them.

There have been moments in my life that I imagined that God Almighty was walking with me and holding my hand. That thought kept me sane in times of such mental suffering that from day to day, I wasn’t sure I would ever emerge from the darkness of depression.

I held on to that mighty hand with every ounce of my mental and spiritual strength, knowing without being able to articulate why, that I felt safe and would be okay, for Jesus had assured me in John 10:29, that no one could snatch me out of our Father’s hands.

I still hold to His unchanging hands, for the trials of life have taught me that I can’t be victorious on my own strength. But with the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, and the love of my Father in Heaven, I know that victory will be mine.

In these days of such unimaginable sickness and death, unemployment and lost dreams and businesses, take comfort, Everyone, in knowing that we are in the hands of the One who created the world, and that He will give us victory over this dreaded disease. It is in this assurance that we can find peace to get us through each day.