As a parent, you may never feel more needed than when your toddler takes you by the hand.
Even at a young age, our kids want us to know how independent they are. They strive to push their limits until life gets a bit wobbly, the ground becomes uneven, or the fading light makes the path indistinguishable.
And then you feel that little hand reach up and take yours. It's an expression of hope and trust. Hope that the hand will make it better, and trust because it has so many times before.
As a pastor, I need a hand for the times like these in my own life.
"The steps of a righteous man are established by the Lord, when he delights in his way; though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the Lord upholds his hand." Psalm 37:23-24
I'm that toddler, and so are you. We begin to feel confident in our own abilities, but hard moments show we're still unprepared. So as we live close to the Lord, we find His hand is just a short reach away. It can feel like a stretch when we've been living distant from Him, and yet it remains still available for the repentant believer in Jesus Christ.
So reach out for God's hand today. No matter how sure you are of an "easy" day, reach out. No matter how embarrassed you are because it's been so long since you prayed, reach out. The repentant child of God can place their hope and trust in that present, solid, and gentle hand.
How do we find trust and comfort when those that have reached for a hand have been met with unfortunate events. Those that try but get hurt. Those people eventually stop trying, because it has always related to harm and cannot be trusted anymore. How do you learn to trust the abuser?
ReplyDeleteThis article is specifically about us reaching out our hand to God, who is always ready to steady us in every circumstance. There will always be people who have broken our trust, so Christians are fortunate to have an ever-present God.
ReplyDeleteI understand the representation. We reach out to God as a child would reach out to his parent. What I am referring to is the parent who cannot be trusted because they cause grief and harm to that child who has reached out, but is met with harm or disappointment. Soon enough that child cannot trust that hand, because it doesn't represent trust it. For example, I need a hand in getting through a difficult time, so I reach for his. That same day a tragedy occurs, my grip then becomes a little looser, because I was met with more hardship. IF this trend continues, I am not going to be less cooperative in reaching out. So my question is, how does one learn to trust again and take the hand of the abuser? I hope I am being more clear here
DeleteYou weren't unclear before, but it's not something I'm prepared to answer in a blog comment. While forgiveness is necessary, that doesn't require Christians to unwisely trust. I may forgive a sex offender, but they'll never be allowed to work in the children's area. That's not unforgiveness, but just wisdom of not placing them in that temptation. If an abuser is unrepentant, there's little reason for that person to ever expect to gain anyone's trust. And the one who's been abused, will likely find someone else who doesn't break that trust.
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