I Can’t Even Walk Without You Holding My Hand

Even though I am well aware that God is my source, that He is the One who supplies everything I need, that He is the One who has given me talents and abilities to do what He has called me to do, I still at times find myself trying to “go it alone.” What is it about us that causes us to pull away from the One who loves us the most? We don’t mean to do it, but we get caught up in the moment, in this or that activity, and find ourselves depending on the arm of the flesh, rather than leaning on the everlasting arms. Then we get into trouble and realize we need to run back to the Master and His plan.

The song comes to mind, I Can’t Even Walk Without You Holding My Hand. If we let go of His hand, we are bound to get off track.

I am so thankful that when we trust our lives to our Heavenly Father, He has promised to guide us in the way we should go. Just as we care for our children and do our best to guide them in the right direction, our Father’s desire is that we follow His ways and walk on the path He has set before us. Many times the path takes an unexpected turn; there are sometimes rough places that are hard to travel. But God in His infinite wisdom knows where He wants us to go and who He wants us to become.

The greatest wisdom we possess is the willingness to surrender our plans and our desires to the One who knows all things and who holds our lives in the palm of His hand.

Father, I need You. I can’t even walk without You holding my hand!

Scripture for Reflection

I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye. (Psalm 32:8)

I Can’t Even Walk (Without You Holding My Hand)

I thought that number one would surely be me,
I thought I would be what I wanted to be.
I thought I could build on life's sinking sand,
But I can't even walk without You holding my hand.

I thought I could do a lot on my own,
I thought I could make it all alone;
I thought of myself as a mighty big man,
But I can't even walk without You holding my hand.

Lord I can't even walk without You holding my hand.
The mountain's too high and the valley's too wide.
Down on my knees, I learned to stand.
Because I can't even walk without You holding my hand.

I think that I'll make Jesus my All,
From now on when I'm in trouble, on Him I will call;
If I don't trust Him, I'll be less than a man,
You see I can't even walk without You holding my hand.

Lord I can't even walk without You holding my hand.
The mountain's too high and the valley's too wide.
Down on my knees, I learned to stand.
Because I can't even walk without You holding my hand.

Thanksgiving Every Day

This being the time of year we celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday, it is a season when we especially remember the many things for which we are thankful. But in the life of a child of God, every day should be a day of thanksgiving. Psalm 92:1 tells us, It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most high. And Psalm 105:1: O give thanks unto the LORD, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people. Psalm 118:1: O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: because his mercy endureth for ever. And the Psalms are filled with many more admonitions for us to give thanks to God.

No matter what is happening in your life right now, you have much for which to be thankful. Even if we have had a very bad day, or bad week, month, year, or even more, we can be thankful that there is a God in heaven who loves us. I’m reminded of words from the worship song, I Have a Hope: There’s still hope for me today, for the God of heaven loves me.*   Even though your present situation may seem hopeless, your life is in God’s hands. He has a purpose for what you are going through, though you may not understand it right now. Everything we face is temporary. This life with all of its hardships is so short when compared with eternity. James tells us that our life is a vapor that appears for a short while and then vanishes away. (Jms. 4:14)

Though our lives are less than perfect, we can look forward to the things that God has in store for us. Through the sacrifice of His Son, He has provided salvation, and when we accept this gift we have the assurance that we will spend eternity with Him in a place where all of our hardships will be over and forgotten. He has promised to dry all tears from our eyes. I look forward to finally seeing my Savior, face to face!

While I am still on this earth, I want to spend the short time I have left giving thanks unto God with my life and with my words.

Father, thank You for life. Thank you for the gift of Your Son and the sacrifice of His life on Calvary. Thank You for salvation. Thank You for Your Word that has been given to guide us. Thank You that You care about us completely, even though we don’t always understand what is happening in our lives. We love You, Lord!

*I Have a Hope, Tommy Walker, Maranatha Music

Refuse to Fear—Accept God’s Peace

As I reflect on events taking place in our country, I am once again reminded of the uncertainty of life and the perilous times in which we live. None of us know what the next day will hold, or even the next moment. If we allow our minds to dwell on these uncertainties for too long, our hearts can become filled with fear. It is easy to see the following scripture being fulfilled in our time: Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. (Luke 21:26)

When contemplating the direction our nation is going, I have found myself trembling at the thought of what could lie ahead for us. It is then that I realize the need to shift my focus back to the One who is able to take care of His people. Our God knows all things, and as long as we live for Him and trust Him, we have no need to fear what life holds or what man may do to us. The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me? (Psalm 118:6)

God is our Rock and our Fortress, the One on whom we can depend. We must stand firmly upon the Rock. Even though everything else may crumble around us, He will stand. He has promised that He will protect us. He will not fail us!

Father, I am thankful that Your Word is filled with many promises that we can depend on You to take care of us. In an uncertain world that causes our hearts to fear, help us to keep our minds upon You. Thank You for filling our hearts with peace.

Scriptures for Reflection

I will love thee, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies. (Psalm 18:1-3)

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. (Isaiah 26:3)

And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.  (Philippians 4:7)

Worth the Sacrifice

It takes sacrifice to learn the great and mighty things that God wants to reveal to us. Closeness with God does not come easily. There is a price to pay—but it is worth whatever we have to endure.

God’s children are like…..well, children. We are easily distracted by whatever is in front of us at the moment. We are guilty of paying so much attention to the details of here and now that we fail to seek God’s face. We do not take the time to get away from the distractions and move toward God, even though we know deep in our hearts that is what we need to do. It is easier to maintain the status quo than to follow the leading of the Spirit.

I thank God that He is merciful and He keeps calling. He does not give up on us. He is more faithful than we are—so much more faithful.

Call unto me and I will answer thee and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not (Jeremiah 33:3).  I need to know those things. But I live in the triviality of each day, in the mundaneness (is that a word?) of the moment….when deep in my heart what I want to do is soar like an eagle. I believe all of us want our lives to be above the ordinary. We want to do more than just take up space. To rise above the mediocrity and sameness, we must learn to sacrifice. Anyone who has accomplished great things has had to learn personal sacrifice. Our Savior is a prime example. In order to purchase salvation for the whole human race, He was willing to give His life—and to suffer greatly during the process. We must be willing to give up the comfort and familiarity of the moment to dig deep into God’s Word, and even spend some time in agonizing prayer to find the depth of relationship that we need with our Father.

We Americans don’t want to suffer. We don’t like denying ourselves for any reason. We have grown accustomed to the easy life. You may disagree with me, but compared with much of the rest of the world, most of us live very comfortable lives. I read a story recently that illustrates the extent that some people are willing to sacrifice for what is important to them. In 1975, a Vietnamese widow who had saved money to come to America boarded a boat with her three small children. The boat was so tiny that the people had standing room only. She stood with her children and 125 other people on that boat without food for twelve days and nights to come to the land of opportunity. Upon her arrival here, she worked three menial jobs to buy a home, raise her children and put them through college. You can read her story here. This woman sacrificed present, personal comfort in order to obtain a better life for her children and herself.

More important than having a better physical life here and now is living in a soul-satisfying relationship with the Lord. By the examples of many men and women in the Bible, we learn that the development of that kind of relationship with Him requires much time reading the Word of God, fasting and praying. We know this. We talk about the need for these things in our lives. But are we making the personal sacrifice? I know that I don’t nearly enough.

Father, help me to live out in my daily life what You have put in my heart to do. Plant a desire inside of me and every one who reads this blog, so that we will be willing to sacrifice whatever is necessary to draw closer to You.