Last Sunday was a beautiful day. My son, Josh, and daughter-in-law, Brittney, decided to take a walk on the Virginia Creeper Trail with my granddaughter, Bella, who is two years old. As they began to walk, Brittney told Bella that she had to hold someone's hand on the trail. Bella said, "I hold Bella's hand!", and she clasped her little hands together in front of her and traipsed off down the path.
While that's an adorable story that will probably be retold many times in our family's life, it's also a picture of how we are as the children of God sometimes. We forget that no matter how much we have matured in the faith, we are still children and we still need our heavenly Father.
Bella's parents wanted her to hold a hand for several perfectly natural human reasons, but those reasons are the same reasons we should be holding on to the hand of God as we go through this life.
1. Direction and guidance - As a toddler who has not walked this trail before, Bella doesn't know which way to go or even where she is headed, but her mother's hand can guide her. Though we sometimes think we know all about life, we really don't know the wisest path to take or even what destination God has in mind for us next. We need to rely on Him to show us the steps to take and to guide us to the places in our lives that He has prepared for us.
Psalm 37:23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord and He delights in his way.
2. Safety and protection - Bella doesn't have enough life experience to know all the things that could potentially harm her. Though she tells me all the time, "don't touch the bees", she hasn't had a run-in with a snake or a farmer's barbed wire fence strung between the trail and his field. There are things that will capture her attention and imagination that she'll want to check out more closely, but the loving hands of her parents will make sure that those things that entice her are not things that are a threat to her. The Holy Spirit can prompt us, warn us, and teach us about the things of this world that have been laid as a snare to draw us away from Him.
2 Timothy 4:18 And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom.....
3. Insight and teaching - Though everything in creation is new and exciting to a child, they won't always notice some of the things that an adult will recognize. Bella's daddy can lead her to the edge of the path to see an interesting bug or lift her up to peer over a fence at a calf grazing in the field. He can tell her the names of the things that she sees and can explain what is happening. If we stay close to God, he can give us insight and revelation into the day-to-day things in our lives - just like seeing parallels between the behavior of a toddler and our relationship with Him! If we are close enough to listen, there is much we can learn from a God who knows everything.
Jeremiah 33:3 Call to me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.
4. Relationship and trust - Isn't it just the sweetest thing to have your child or grandchild reach up to take your hand? The sense that your little one wants and needs the reassurance of having you close and knowing they are putting their trust in you makes your heart swell with happiness. God is the creator of our emotions and I imagine that He feels them as well. It must delight His heart so much when we put our hand in His, desiring to be close to Him and expressing that we trust His wisdom to lead us on our path.
Psalm 73:28 But it is good for me to draw near to God; I have put my trust in the Lord God, That I may declare all Your works.
This week, God has used this little story about Bella to ask me some hard questions about my walk with Him. There have been times when I have hard-headedly charged down my own path, holding my own hand and forgotten all that is available to me in His hands. Just because my head knows how to do this Christian life does not mean that I can do it apart from the One who gave me that life in the first place. You cannot do it by yourself either. Don't forget to reach up for His hand.
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