Do you know that God holds us in His hands?? He wants us to depend on Him for EVERYTHING. When we don't let him hold us, we are not in sync will all that He has for us. We worry, we doubt, we stress out and think that we have to do it all. This is where I was a few days ago. I am not usually an anxious person, but thats where I was at this time.
I turned on my ipod to do a quiet time, because I had to give it to the Lord. The first song that played was "By your side" by Brandon Heath.
God often speaks to me through music, and lyrics will suddenly speak to exactly where I am at like they never have before.
The words of Brandon Heath spoke to me:
Why are you striving these days? Why are you trying to earn grace? Why are you still searching as if I am not enough?
This is what God has been showing me the past few days. Please don't fight these hands that are holding you. My hands are holding you. I was putting pressure on myself to do things. I thought that it was my fault when things weren't happening. I was anxious. Please don't fight these hands that are holding you. My hands are holding you. You know what?? His hands ARE holding me. I can't do ANYTHING without Him. It is only by submitting to the Lord that we can be helped, only by the acceptance of His gift that we will bear any fruit.
Hands have been coming up a lot lately. When God is teaching me something, I don't always notice until I look back and see everything line up. I received a prophesy note last week that was a picture someone got of me swimming, struggling a little bit and God's giant hand scooping me up. God reminded me of Isaiah 41:10, "I will strengthen you and help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." I was comforted.
The next song that played was "Take My Hand" by Shawn McDonald: "Take my hand to the promise land and on You I wanna stand, cause I cannot do it on my own. I need You. God was trying to tell me something, something crucial that we often forget, something that refined me,
His grace is sufficient for me. 2 Corinthians 12:9 Ya, I knew that, but this time I embraced it, and I will cling to it. I am holding His hand and He will guide me no matter what comes my way. That is the way He, the King of Kings wants us to live, that is what He desires for our lives, full dependence on Him. You know what?!? It is a pretty awesome way to live, not worrying about anything that life throws at you. God tells us many times in His word to not worry, to trust Him and that we are not to be anxious about anything. I believe that we will be able to walk in all He has for us when we entrust Him with everything, and with three more weeks of ministry, and a lifetime of trust ahead, I am pretty excited to see what that looks like!
I feel so free, God has totally opened my eyes. He keeps doing that. He will allow me to break and then He will open my eyes to things I have never known before. Refinement is tough, but it is only through the flame that we can be refined. I think thats beautiful.
I will leave you with this, the word hand/s is used 1,417 times in the Bible. That means that they are important. Embrace the fact that God's hands are holding and guiding you. "If the Lord delights in a man's ways, He makes His steps firm; though he stumbles, he will not fall for the Lord upholds him with His hands." Psalm 37:23-24
Walking in all He has for me,
Chelsea
