Sean and I were listening to a sermon this evening by Shane Hipps (Mars Hill – Grand Rapids, MI). The title of the sermon was “The Art of Abiding.”
There was one particular story that stuck out at me.
Shane tells the story of how he took his 2.5 year old daughter, Hadley, to a local fair. He explains how Hadley, when arriving at the fair, wanted to walk on her own. Shane asked Hadley if she wanted to hold hands and she did. She put her hand up to her daddy for him to hold and guide her. She was happy, excited and mesmerized by all around her, feeling like a big girl.
As they walked along, Hadley got a little bold and let go of her daddy’s hand. As Shane said, “It’s like she’s saying: “Dad, I got this handled. I own this place.” She started to walk a bit ahead of Shane; his eyes never were taken off of her; however she lost sight of her daddy.
There were people everywhere, life moving quickly around, people she didn’t know flooding past her. Shane could see the panic begin to move across her face. Her eyes widened; she was now terrified, no longer excited. Shane called Hadley’s name, she turned around, looked up and saw her daddy. Shane put down his hand and Hadley grabbed a hold of it. All became right with the world; and it was no longer terrifying because she had her daddy’s hand, knowing he was with her, watching over her and protecting her.
Here’s something that Shane said that stuck with me (in italics):
“The fair is meant to be, created to be, enjoyed. But if she doesn’t have hold of my finger, that fair becomes terrifying.
This life, the things of this world, is like that fair. They’re meant, created to be enjoyed. But if we do not have a firm grasp of the Father’s finger, this life can become a very terrifying place.”
How often do we become like Hadley? We think that we have a handle on things; that we can better control them, deal with them so we let go of our Father’s hand, saying, “I can do this by myself.”
I’ve done it oh so many times. “It’s okay God, I got this. Just sit back and relax for now.” And then....BAM!!!! I’ve gone ahead and messed things up. I go back to Him and say, “Okay, I messed up. I’m sorry; I shouldn’t have taken things into my own hands. Help me!?!?!” And I cling to our Father’s hand once more.
A few other things Shane said (in italics):
“We’ve heard, ‘Empty handed you came into this world, empty handed you will go.’ But if you learn now, not later to attach yourself to that immoveable, indestructible, eternal life that Jesus came to give, then empty handed you came in to this world but empty handed you do not have to go.”
We leave the world holding on to our Father’s hand, spending eternity with Him. Our hand isn’t empty; it’s holding onto Him. How awesome is that????
“As you think about your own life, imagine the things in your life (relationships, illness, jobs, etc.) anything you find yourself “rubber-necking” towards....you are in the fair and have lost sight of the hand and you have left it behind, now is the time to reach back for it....because while your eye may have been off of it, our Father’s eyes were never off of you. He knows exactly where you are if you need that; it’s there for you. It’s nowhere near as far as you think it is.”
How many times have we said, “God just seems so far away.” Have we thought of just putting our hand up and asking Him to take hold of it? We’d probably then realize that He’s always been there, His hand pointing downward, waiting for us to grasp it.
I have proven to myself over and over again, that every time I let go of my Father’s hand, I get lost; I get confused and I get side-tracked. If I just hold onto His hand, He will guide me down the right path. I will never have to be the wide-eyed, terrified little girl. I can be in the comfort of my Father’s presence and His hand in mine.
So from now on, my hand is up, clinging to His.
Much love,
Meredith
