Take My hand!

Have you ever seen a mom walk into the mall, the grocery, or Target with her child and he or she takes off running in the parking lot towards the entrance and mom hollers for little Johnny or Susie to stop and hold her hand? I’ve seen this countless times and even experienced it myself. Belle has taken off and I frantically yell for her to stop and hold my hand; trying to protect her from traffic in the parking lot or someone snatching her. As I think of this picture I see a similar image of me with God. Here I go taking off in life and pulling away from God’s hand in this uncertain world. Just like a mother is protective of her young, God is even more protective of His children and calls for us to come back, slow down, and take hold of His righteous hand.

We live in a very uncertain world; I’ve often heard my dad say, “You are either in trouble, about to get in trouble, or just coming out of trouble”. That seems to be a pretty consistent cycle wouldn’t you say? But here is the thing, God says in Ephesians 6:12, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this age, against spiritual host of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

This means there is a spiritual battle around us, it is literally like the devil and angel on your shoulders. The Bible says Satan is the father of lies. As some know I have been dealing with panic and anxiety; I mostly feel knots in my stomach in the morning time. But I have to give glory to God, because this morning I was praying to Him for peace, confidence, strength, a day without anxiety. And I may not be able to put this into words, but as I was praying God spoke to my heart and for just a moment (less than 30 secs) I thought of how evil Satan really is. He wants us to lie, cheat, commit adultery, kill, steal, hurt others, hate, feel hopeless, distrust the Lord, but then God said (in my heart) I am the complete opposite of everything, Satan is. I am love, hope, the giver of life, encourager, deliverer, always present, heavenly Father, protector, healer, and the list goes on. And after that thought, I kid you not, the knots left, and I believe God sent me His peace. A peace that transcends all understanding!

I have to tell you something God was speaking to me yesterday while I was driving. See I have had some panic attacks while driving and when I drive sometimes I get really anxious. Well yesterday I was driving home from my parents house and I was clenching my steering wheel. I felt God say to me, “child quit grasping that steering wheel for dear life and take hold of my righteous right hand.” I’ve been memorizing Bible verses and the one that came to mind was Isaiah 41:10 “Fear NOT, for I AM with you; do not be dismayed, for I AM your God. I will strengthen you, YES I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” Praise God for His promise!

God has been teaching me that I need to let go of being in control and start placing my confidence in Him. I love what Psalms 118:8 says, “It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.” Today God spoke to me (in my heart) “Girl, you’ll never know how far I can take you, until you learn to put your faith in me and believe I AM who I say I AM!!

Here is a cool truth; Psalms says God’s word (Bible) is “My comfort in my affliction, For Your (God) word has given me life.” God’s word is life! Ok so stay with me; John 1:1-2 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.” The “Word” John is referring to is Jesus Christ. So if God’s word is life, and the Word is Jesus, and we have Jesus in our heart, we are given life. And according to John 10:10-11, Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” Do you get where I am going? The Word of God who is Jesus Christ came so that we may have an abundantly filled life! By reading His word daily you will be filled daily with Him who only wants to prosper you!

When we decide we want to be a man or woman after God’s own heart, we can only expect Satan to attack us hard. Nothing pangs Satan more than a child calling out to Jesus. Satan wants to keep us in bondage, in chains, unhappy, and unfulfilled. But as God has taught us, He wants to give us an abundant life! Which is why it is so important when we turn our lives over to God, we need to be armed with truth to combat the lies of Satan. The Bible is the only weapon we have; trust me, we don’t want to bring a knife to a gun fight!

Jesus compares us Christians as soldiers. Get ready for battle; Ephesians 6:16-17 says in reference to getting ready for battle, “above all, taking the shield of faith which you will be able to quench all fiery darts of the wicked one (Satan), and take the helmet of salvation, and the SWORD OF THE SPIRIT which is the WORD OF GOD.”

When we feel weak and weary with the beatings of life ask God for a renewal of strength; that’s right, all we have to do is believe and ask because that’s what Christ said, “Ask and you shall receive”. I’ll end with this verse from Isaiah 40:31 “But those who hope in the LORD, shall renew their strength; They shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.” Praise God for being God; the great I AM!