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He Upholds Us

written by Brandon Burton on 30 Apr 07
 

Psa 63:8  "My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me."  (ESV)

This scripture calls to mind another example of where fatherly love gives but a glimpse into the unsurpassed love of The Father. It is fairly common to see parents holding the hands of their children. When Joshua was first learning to walk, I learned a difficult lesson about holding his hand. It's not that holding his hand was a problem, it was this specific upholding him with my hand that caused the problem.

As most children, Joshua was eager to walk everywhere once he had discovered that he could do more than just crawl on those two legs. One day, we were heading down the steps of the back porch and he had the full intention of walking down those steps. Even though I had some items in my other hand, he was able to reach up and grab my hand to go down the steps. I did not think anything of this since he reached up and grabbed my hand to steady himself. After the first step or two, he lost balance and tumbled right down the steps. He even obtained a little scratch on his face from the fall. The whole thing seemed to unfold in slow motion as I was just not able to catch him. You might ask, “what happened since he reached up and grabbed your hand?” That is right, but I did not get a firm grasp on his hand. When he began to fall, he did not have the strength in his hand to hold onto my hand to stop his fall. Since I did not have a good grasp on his hand, the poor little boy tumbled right down the steps.

The lesson of that day has meant more than just the way I hold my children' hands. While it is true that I now hold the kids' hands with a firm grasp every since that day Joshua fell, I was able to learn something about our heavenly father. See, God does not forget nor does He get distracted. He does not have to learn how to hold our hand. As the above scripture indicates, God upholds us with His right hand. Even when our grip on Him grows tired and weak, The Loving Father of Heaven does not grow tired or weak in holding our hand. We may stumble when He upholds us with His right hand, but God will not allow us to fall. Since that day that Joshua fell down those stairs, there have been a number of times when he and Abby both have lost their balance or almost found themselves in danger. The good news is that I learned this lesson of fatherhood, in spite of the frailties of the flesh. Since that time, my grasp has been there firmly for them even though their little hands may have been weak. Also, thank God that Joshua was not seriously injured that day because I was not paying close enough attention to make sure we had a good grasp.

So if you find God holding onto your hand to what may even feel like a little strong and restricting, it is likely that God is upholding you with His mighty right hand. God does not want you to fall and get hurt, nor does He want you to get loose and run into traffic where you could get seriously hurt or killed. Afterall, are we too different than children when we consider the love of The Father?

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added to web:  30 Apr 07