The Lord Upholds His Hand

It's sad, but my oldest daughter is a little unsure in her footing and has the scraped knees to prove it. Our youngest daughter is the little daredevil and is constantly falling down. Because I don't want them to be hurt, and, even less do I want to hear them cry, I hold their hands when we're walking over rough terrain. Flat paved or concrete roads are less likely to cause an unsure step, but a fall there would produce a more severe injury.

Not one of us fathers want to see our children hurt. There are lessons to be learned from a small, controlled situation resulting in injury that could produce caution in a different circumstance, but that isn't what we want for our children every day. I don't want them to fall and scuff their knees, so I make them hold my hands and I hold their hands tightly. Regardless of how strong my grip is, or how much I want them to not fall, inevitably, they will stumble. If I have a firm hold of their hand, I can quickly pull them back up so the scrape isn't as bad or doesn't happen at all. They experience the shock of falling, but can, hopefully, avoid the worst of the consequences as they return to their feet.

Just as we don't want our children to stumble and be hurt, God doesn't want for us to fall. David puts it in this way in Psalm 37:23-24

23 The steps of a man are established by the Lord,
      when He delights in his way;
24 though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong,
      for the Lord upholds his hand. (ESV)

As tightly as I hold the hands of my girls and as much as I don't want them to fall, God's feeling for me is even stronger.

Just as my daughters won't fall if they keep their eyes on where they're going, we won't fall spiritually as long as we keep our eyes on the road ahead and the goal that lay before us. We will allow ourselves to be distracted and, at times, stumble. As long as we continue to hold our Father's hand, He'll guide and protect us.

Let us all look to keep our feet firmly planted on the path established by the Lord. Then we can rest in the assurance that, though we may stumble, we won't fall on our faces because the Lord is upholding our hands.