Please Don’t Fight these Hands that are Holding You
Have you ever held a child that did not want to be held? They squirm, push away, and, on occasion, hit to get out of your arms. They want to be on the go or doing whatever it is they want without you interrupting their fun. I wish I could say it was just babies that did this. As an adult, I have tried to fight the hands holding me, the hands of God. I have tried to fight against his protection, his discipline, and even his love. Maybe you have too.
The Hold
I once was a child of God that bucked anything God gave me. He gave me boundaries; I pushed them. He gave me protection; I ran out from it. He gave me love; I dismissed it. I was the prodigal daughter.
However, no matter how much I fought, he never let me go. God allowed me to feel, to wander into some pits, to feel the consequences of my actions, to know he was my only hope. But He never let me go no matter how much I fought against him. He remained true to his word, “My Father, who has given them [God’s children] to me is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand” (John 10:28). There was nothing I could do in which I would no longer be God’s child. There’s nothing you can do either.
Resting rather than Fighting
I had to learn to stop fighting and accept God’s rest was best for me. This was not an easy task. I was way more comfortable fighting than submitting; however, learning to rest in God’s hands has provided more freedom than I could ever imagine. This is available for us all. Below are three steps to help guide you to stop fighting the hands that are holding you.
1) Acceptance - Isaiah 49:16
We are engraved on the palm of God’s hands. There is nothing we can do to erase that. No sin, no faults, nothing. We are his children. Our names are forever before the Father. We can accept that we are His.
When we accept that God is for us and loves us, we have an opportunity to accept his hands holding us. For some of us, we fight against his hands because we believe that we are not worthy of being held. That is a lie from the enemy. We are worthy of God’s love because He showed us that on the cross. He has washed us white as snow and wants us to live in the freedom he has provided.
2) Trust – Psalm 55:22
Trust is so difficult. Unfortunately, we are born into a fallen world full of fallen people who have hurt us, let us down, and simply abandoned us. We may have learned more about how not to trust, than how to trust. While trust is difficult, it is not impossible.
Although trust is not impossible, it may take a while. We have become accustomed to the fallen ways of the world and trust may have been proven fruitless with man. But God is our Father, Protector, Savior, YHWH, Counselor, Prince of Peace and more. He has never faltered in his character. God has not changed in 2000 years, and he is not changing today. He is our constant.
We can cast our cares on the Lord “and he will sustain us.” This does not mean that life will be ever glorious after we do this. It means that no matter what comes our way, we are not alone. He is Immanuel: God with us. He will catch us when we fall, forgive us when we sin, and love us for eternity.
3) Rest – Matthew 11:28-30
This is one of my favorite passages. An image has remained in my mind since I chose to quit fighting against God’s hands and find rest in him. I picture God sitting, and me tired, restless, and aching almost crawling to him. I picture him lifting my very tired body, mind, and soul into his lap, and me curling into him. His gentle hands holding me while I release every pain. He supports me and comforts me. He allows me to experience what it is to come to him weary, yet be renewed. And we all have this opportunity.
Many of us are fighting battles no one ever sees. Battles in our minds, bodies and souls. Battles against the enemy as well as our own thoughts and feelings. We are tired. Like the child who doesn’t want to fall asleep, we fight any rest we may be offered. However, the longer we resist, the more tired, the more restless, the more anxious, worried, lonely, and depressed we become.
Yet if we take God’s invitation to “Come to me all who are weary, and I will give you rest,” we will find the reprieve we are seeking. This may not be overnight, but it will be a start. It will be start to a new chance to experience the Father’s hands holding you so gently, yet so strongly.
Final Thoughts
God desires us to know the power of his hands. They provide the power of rest, hope, mercy, love, forgiveness, and more. In His hand we can know that we are held firmly and never forgotten. But he will not make us run to him or force us to remain. He is a loving Father that offers us choice. He allows us the choice to accept, trust, and rest in the hands that can hold us, or not to. But his posture never changes; He is always “the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says, ‘Do not fear; I will help you’” (Isaiah 41:13).
Challenge Questions:
1) Are you resting in God’s hands or fighting against them? How do you know when you are resting or fighting?
2) Consder a time that you have experienced rest in God. Write what that felt like and how you believe you can have that again if it is no longer present
3) Write a prayer asking God to help you accept, trust, and rest in Him.