Unchanging hands

"If I take the wings of the morning

    and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,

even there your hand shall lead me,

    and your right hand shall hold me."   Psalm 139:9-10 (ESV)

A year ago, while the U.S. was shutting down because of the COVID-19 pandemic, I was in the Amazon river. Our mission trip was a blessing. As we arrived in the city of Manaus, we read the news. My heart was afraid. The problem was, unlike my church friends, I wasn’t going back to the States. I was flying to Rio de Janeiro to visit my family for a week.

I prayed about going home for 13 years and God blessed me with that opportunity. I had no time to be paralyzed by fear. Still, my concerns were real. I went back to what I knew: God’s faithfulness.

When I was flying in and out of Rio, I was listening to a song called “Hold to God’s unchanging hands.” It became the anthem of 2020 for me. During the introduction the narrator says:

"In dealing with inconsistencies, uncertainties, 

and the vicissitudes of life's ever-changing variables 

Know that our God remains constant 

and is stationary in His Godness. 

He is the unmoved mover 

So when your world is upside down

hold to God's unchanging hands." 

- Dr. Kevin Bond 

Those words were planted in my psyche on purpose. Today’s scripture is the perfect encouragement for times of uncertainty. The Psalmist says that when circumstances are incredibly unknown, God’s hands will lead us and His right hand will hold us. Pause and think about that for a second. 

We are in the middle of our 40 days of no complaints challenge. When we look back at our lives one year ago, we see that God was faithful to lead us and guide us.

None of us knows what tomorrow will be like. God does. It is wise to hold His hand and let Him lead us.

I taught my three kids to hold hands when they were little. Holding hands with someone requires a lot of things. One thing is, you have to agree with the person. You probably have to love the person too. I’ve never held hands with people I dislike. It also shows incredible unity. When we hold God’s hands, we demonstrate our love, trust and dependence on Him. We are less likely to complain about someone while we are holding their hand. 

Decide to hold to God’s hand today. Decide to let Him lead you, even through life's ever-changing variables.

Prayer: God, today, we come to thank you. You have been good to us. You led us through a difficult year. We know you want us here, alive, for a reason. Thank you for life. We also come to surrender to You. We surrender our lives. We surrender our thoughts and words. We extend our hands so you can hold and guide us. We trust you and we walk with you, hand in hand, joyfully. In Jesus’ name, Amen.