HIS HAND

For I am the LORD your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.  

Isaiah 41:13

Many times when I hold my grandchild’s hand to cross the street, he/she fights me. They want to do it themselves.  They battle the restriction. Their wish is to run free, maybe right into the danger of an oncoming car. They are totally oblivious to the peril that awaits them by plunging forward without restraints. There have been times that I have warned them ahead of time, “We are coming to a street crossing. You will hold my hand. It is not negotiable, so there is no sense in fighting.”

It makes me wonder, do we resist when God holds our hand? The day we give our life to Jesus, we are saying, deep within our heart, I trust you Lord. Yet, I know in my life time I have wanted to plunge forward, and do things my way. I may have given my heart to Him, but at times I do not want Him in control. The problem is, when I resist His help, I usually end up in trouble. If nothing else, my mind is in turmoil.

God sees what is ahead and what is behind. He knows the path that is best. So, why do I see His hand reach out to mine when I am crossing the street of decision, and I withdraw mine? Stubbornness, pride, and arrogance, are a few of the reasons. One of the most self-absorbent reason is; I think I am God.

Someone once told me,"The reason I don’t place my problems in God's hands, is because I will receive more obstacles and pain."  It’s amazing that this person thinks she can see so clearly, her future, just like God. She unknowingly has set herself up on a pedestal. Her thoughts may be: Why place my hand in His? He is no help. The simple fact is, she does not want to place her hand, in the hand of God. She wants to do things her way, and unfortunately her way is not working. She is in turmoil.

I have fought God on numerous occasions, but the older I get, the more I realize; my way is not the best way. Daily, I ask God to take control of my life. I know that it is a constant battle of self or Him. When I realize that all that I am, all that I have, all that I do, and all that the future holds is because of God, it puts things into perspective.  If He can create every tiny cell, to the largest of all universes, can’t I trust my hand in His?

Today, I choose to open my hand and place it in that hand of my loving creator. His plans for me are good with a future of hope. I know I am in good hands when my hand is in His.

Dear God,

I see your open hand before me. Today I choose to hold on for dear life to the giver of life eternal.

In Your Son’s Name I pray,

Amen