Monday's Musing--Holding Daddy's Hand

A few years ago we took our girls to the county fair so they could experience the “kiddie rides.” One particular ride was especially fearsome—the Himalaya, a continuous circle of cars that race around and around while undulating like a boat riding the swells of a rough ocean, first forward, then backward. I remember riding this very ride when I was a kid and being victim to the centrifugal forces as they pressed me against my dad. Now I was the dad taking the brunt of the force as my daughter Laura was pressed against me. I could see the fear on her face as we raced around at breakneck speed so I reached over and gently took her hand in mine. A smile parted her lips, and she giggled and laughed for the remainder of the ride.

At times we feel like that child helplessly thrown about by the forces of turmoil and trials we face in our lives. No matter how hard we fight them, we just don’t possess the strength to prevail—and we become fearful. Helplessness is not a comforting feeling.

When we’re sitting by the bedside of a cancer-stricken loved one.

When the doctor grimly states, “It’s worse than we expected.”

When the voice on the other end of the phone says those words no parent wants to hear, “Your daughter’s been in an accident . . .”

We’re helpless. We’ve lost control and fear overcomes us.

It is at times like these we cry out “Daddy!” and our heavenly Father answers, “Fear not, for I am with you, be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10,13).

How comforting it is to know that we are never alone. When trials pull at us they only press us firmly against our Daddy’s side, and he takes our hand in His and lovingly reassures us that He is in control.