“Tough times can cause us to get our perspective turned around. I was
reminded of this recently as I talked to a fellow-griever—another parent who,
like Sue and me, lost a teenage daughter to death suddenly and without warning.
She told me she had been missing her daughter terribly, and she told God
she felt as if she were hanging on by her fingernails. Then she felt as if God
reminded her that His hand of protection was there to hold her up—that she
could let go, and He would catch her” (D.B. – american writer).
That’s a better perspective, isn’t it? This picture reminds us that when
troubles come and we feel least able to hold on to our faith, it’s not up to
us. It’s up to God to support us with His mighty hand.
Psalm 37:23-24 says: “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord . . . .
Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholds him
with His hand.” And Psalm 63:8 tells us: “My soul follows close behind You; Your right hand
upholds me.”
In tough times, we can become so preoccupied with our role in “clinging
to God” that we forget about His promised protection. It’s not our fingernails
that sustain us—it’s His loving, upholding hand.
No one is more secure than the one who is held in God’s hand. (RBC)
