Holding Hands

For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.

Isaiah 41:13

Have you ever noticed the different ways children hold their parents hands?  I was surprised when I really began to think about it, and it made me consider the way I was holding my Saviour's hand.

Let me give you some examples:

1-The Rebellious Hand Holding:  The parent is holding the child's hand firmly, but the child's hand is not holding back.  On the child's countenance you can almost read the child's mind, and it's saying, "Ok, I may be moving in your direction on the outside, but on the inside, I'm going my own way!"  You see the battle of 'wills.'

Do I do that when God wants me to do something I don't want to do?  Do I physically do the task only to be rebellious in my Spirit?

    For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubborness is as iniquity and idolatry.  

1 Samuel 15:23a

2-The Balled-Fist:  The parent is really not holding the child's hand, it's more like the child's wrist because the child has his hand fisted.  Now the child is resisting the parents leading and willingly shows it!

This child is heading in the direction of something he or she wants, but the parent is leading him or her away from their desire.  When you see that happening, there is usually a temper tantrum that will soon follow.

Do I do that when I desire something and God tells me 'No?'

    For my thought are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.  Isaiah 55:8

3-The Limp-Hand:  The parent is holding the child's hand, but the child's hand is not holding back.  Seems like the child has been dragged around from store to store all day.  The child has no more strength of his own.  It's the parent's strength that keeps him moving forward.

Do you ever get weary in the Lord's Work?  Do you think in your mind that you just cannot do one more thing?

    I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.  Philippians 4:13

4-The Rejected-Hand:  I've seen this example too many times and it's heart breaking.  Maybe you have seen it too.  The child is looking up into his or her parents face and is reaching out to grab their parents hand only for the parent to move their hand away from being grasped.  Or when the child does get his or her hand in their parents hand, the parent shakes loose of the child.

Let me tell you, Friend, God will NEVER shake you loose!  He Loves Holding our Hands!  Even when we are not reaching His way, even when we are rebellious, when we have sinned, when we ignore His pleadings, He is always ready to Hold our Hands!

He will NOT let go!  

    ...but His hand is stretched out still.  Isaiah 10:4b

5-Joined Hands-This is my favorite!  It's when the parent is joyfully holding the hand of their child, and the child is joyfully holding their parent's hand right back!  The child has a right relationship with his or her parent.  The child is trusting them, submitted to them in love.  They are allowing the parent to lead them.  They are resting in the fact that they are the ones being held!  Not only are we held, but we are engraved on the palms of our Saviour's Hand!

    Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands;  Isaiah 49:16

There is no place I would rather be, then in the hands of my Saviour!

    But that's just me!

    

 

Hasty

At times, I can be a hasty person.  A door will open, and instead of making sure it was God Who opened it, I will be quick to walk through it!

Or, I get this thought in my head, it all seems so perfect, (according to my own opinion) I begin to get excited about this grand idea, and before I know it, I've placed myself two steps before God.  Why?  It's usually because I want something.

And when I get ahead of God, regret follows, because the end result is never what I expected.

Webster defines "hasty" as:  acting too quickly, overly eager, impatient, a lack of careful thought.

May I ad...lack of careful prayer?

God blessed me for not being hasty this past week;  let me share:

A friend of mine recently found a used piano for sale and sent me the details.  I was very excited as I have been wanting a piano for quite some time.  The details revealed that this was the exact piano I have been looking for, so I contacted the seller.  After making arrangements to go and see the piano, I disconnected the phone call, and to my surprise, immediately had an uneasy feeling in my Spirit.  In the past, I have chosen to ignore this type of prompting, after all, I prayed about finding a used piano for a long time, and God finally opened the door for one.....right?  But remembering my past hastiness and regrets, I chose to listen and surrender to His still, small voice that said, 'Not this one.'  I contacted the seller, gave her my apologies and passed on what had seemed to be an answer to my prayer.

A few days later, my husband and I went to our local Piano Retailer, showed him a picture of the used piano I had passed on, and he immediately recognized that piano.  He was able to tell me all about it, and told me that although this was a good piano, the price they were asking for it, did not match the age of the piano.  I was saved from regrets.

And then God gave me more than I had asked for.

Isn't that just like God?  To go above and beyond all that we ask?

My husband was able to purchase that very piano, brand new, for just a little bit more than what we would have paid for the used one!

Proverbs 21:5 says-The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness; but of every one that is hasty only to want.

I learned a few things from this situation-

    Not all open doors are opened by God-

    Not all open doors are meant to be walked through-

    First opportunities are not always the right opportunities-

God blessed me because I waited...

    But that's just me!

"Patient waiting is often the highest way of doing God's Will"- Jeremy Collier

    

My Time

To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

A time to be born, and a time to die;

Ecclesiastes 3:1,2a

My last Post was about Miracles.  The day after that Post, God revealed a miracle He did for me.

Let me explain-

It was during my yearly stress test at the Heart Institute.  While hooked up with wires and running on the treadmill, my doctor was studying the graph before him.  At the peak of my elevated heart rate, he looked up from the computer and said, "Have you ever had a heart attack?"

I looked at him as my heart suddenly went into double time and said, "No."

(But in my mind, I was thinking, 'Not yet, but after a question like that I'm about to have one!')

He then went on to say that the test cannot show  when I had a heart attack, but my test shows that I have had a heart attack, but the good news was that my heart shows no damage.

After three more hours of testing, I was sent home to wait for the results;  24 hours of worry, anxiety and non-existing, life threatening chest pains!

Then I received the phone call:  "Everything looks normal, no damage, no blockage, nothing to worry about.  We will see you in a year."

I was baffled.

But then I remembered My God of Miracles-

You see, even though my physical body had a heart attack, God is the One Who sustains me.  

Psalms 31:14-15a says, "But I trusted in thee, O LORD:  I said, Thou art my God.  My times are in thy hand:"

God alone decides when He will call me home-

He is in control of every beat my heart makes, every breath I take.

"Seeing his days are determined, the number of his months are with thee, thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass."  Job 14:5

God is not finished with me yet.  He has a plan and a purpose for me to still do-

My body wanted to shut down, but it couldn't, because it is God Who sustains me!

He is the One holding me in His hand-

    But that's just me!

Miracle's

I would seek unto God, and unto God would I commit my cause:

Which doeth great things and unsearchable; marvellous things without number.

Job 5:8-9

I have a friend who was diagnosed with bladder cancer.  When I asked him how his initial doctor's visit went, he smiled and said, "I have bladder cancer."

This morning he is scheduled to have surgery.  When I texted him and his wife to let them know that I was praying, he wrote a reply that said this, "Thank you, Tracy!  I know God has this.  I am excited to see what kind of miracle He will do."

What a testimony!

Webster's definition for Miracle:  An extraordinary event manifesting Divine intervention in human affairs.

I LOVE THAT!  Divine Intervention!

"Extraordinary" means:  Going beyond what is usual.

That is just like God!

Our God is a God of miracles, and there is no mistaking His Hand!

He has proven His love towards us over and over again!

God performs miracles in our lives every day.  Am I watching for them?  Do I see them?  Do I acknowledge that God just intervened in my circumstances to perform something extraordinary in my life?  Am I praising Him for it?!!

Miracle's don't always come in complete healing.  Sometimes the miracle is just getting through the day knowing that we are held in our Saviour's hand...

But I'm never surprised when God does completely heal, because after all...

    God is a God of Miracles!

        But that's just me!

Miracles happen every day...you just have to look for them!

Reality

Revelation 19:11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.

My sister once said that Walt Disney warped her mind with 'happily-ever-after.'

The damsel in distress is saved by her prince who gallantly rides in to save the day on his white steed.  Evil is conquered, the hero kisses the maiden, and they both ride off into the sunset.

Unfortunately, the world in which we actually live, describes a very different story.  Most of us wake up to a day that consists of mortgages, job-stress, crying babies, rebellious teenagers, caring for our elderly parents, or health problems!

World News keeps us informed of the injustices, pandemics, wars and utter chaos.

Not at all like the Fairy Tales we grew up reading in our youth!

Recently I told a friend that I was praying that she would have a good day; calm and peaceful.  But then I realized that that isn't reality-

So, instead, I told her that I was praying "Jesus" in all her circumstances, and that we would both remember that He is in control and He doeth all things well!

And by the way, I do have a hero on a white horse.  One day He will ride in and save the day....

just like He promised...

    But that's just me!

    I wish you Jesus

by Scott Wesley Brown

released in 1988

I could wish you joy and peace,

to last your whole life long,

I could wish you sunshine, 

or a cheerful little song,

Or I could wish you all the happiness,

that this life could bring,

But I wish you Jesus,

more than anything.

I could wish you leaves of gold,

and may your path be smooth,

I could wish you treasures,

or that all your dreams come true,

and I could wish you paradise,

that every day be spring,

but I wish you Jesus,

Cause when I wish you Jesus,

I've wished you everything!