Take My Hand

Isaiah 41:10 Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on to you with My righteous right hand.

I must admit that one of my guilty pleasures is to head to my favorite coffee shop alone, get my usual and just people watch. Even better is when that coffee shop is located in a mall or busy shopping strip. God speaks to me often as I watch people just going about their business.

I vividly remember one particular rainy day when I was feeling very overwhelmed by the pressures of life. I was not in a good mood, and I felt like I was treading water alone, just waiting for sharks to come. Remember the movie “Open Water”? Yeah… like that.

As I sipped my delicious drink and looked out the window at the passersby, I was struck by what I saw. A young girl around 4 years old got out of her car with her mom and then ran to a nearby truck where her dad was getting out of the driver seat. Her pretty brown hair was flowing behind her and she had the biggest grin on her face. I could tell her mom yelled something at her, probably along the lines of “Don’t run through the puddles!” or “Watch out for cars!” She never looked back. By the time she reached her daddy, he was already in full stride approaching his family. She put her tiny hand inside of his large hand and matched his stride as they weaved through the many people and cars. At one point, he lifted her little body off the ground, up and over a mud puddle that had formed on the pavement. With great ease he protected her from getting dirty and wet. And together they went, hand in hand, into the shopping center.

I remember as a child the feeling of comfort I received by simply slipping my hand into the hand of my father when we were in a public place. Somehow, the connection of flesh in that simple gesture filled me with sense of safety. I knew that no matter what we faced as we entered the mall, or the grocery store, or the hardware store, I would be okay because my daddy was guiding me through the crowd, out of harm’s way. I remember practically running to keep up with my dad as he would walk, knowing that I needed to stay alert if I was going to match his pace. Even though it was a struggle at times, the reward was the peace of mind and security that nothing could hurt me if I just remained focused on him.

Using the image of that little girl and her father, God gently reminded me that He is my father. He is always holding out His hand just waiting for His little girl to take hold and rest in His security and peace of mind. He also reminded me that although His pace may require me to take some quick steps, I don’t need to worry about stumbling as long as I keep my focus on Him rather than my own feet. He will not steer me wrong.

So now each morning as I pray to begin my day, I envision God’s majestic and beautiful hand extended to me. And each day I slip my hand into His and do my best to remain focused on Him so I can match His pace.

I pray that each one of you will come to understand and embrace the safety and security of God’s extended hand. His hand is ours to hold, and the One that will pull us out of the mud puddles we encounter along the way.

Be Blessed!