He Holds my Hand

"Child of my love, fear not the unknown morrow, dread not the new demand life makes of thee; thy ignorance doth hold no cause for sorrow, for what thou knowest not is known to me." This is the first line to a poem by Arthur C. Ritchie I was given when I was about to leave home for the first time. I found deep comfort in these words because I did feel ignorant and unsure of what lay ahead.

When I was on the threshold of being an adult I took great comfort in the words of Psalm 37:23,24 "A man's steps are established by the LORD, and He takes pleasure in his ways. Though he falls, he will not be overwhelmed, because the LORD holds his hand." Looking back over the years I realize that sometimes the night would seem to be so dark that I would be afraid of loosing my way. I could easily have been overwhelmed had it not been for the promise that even though I might loose my grip on God the LORD would never loose His grip on me.

Often in life I have not understood the direction in which the LORD was leading. The meaning of my life was hidden, yet from the beginning I knew that I had been invited to walk by faith and not by sight. An invitation to learn how to rest in the promises of God. I was never given a map but instead a promise that the God of all eternity had lavished His love on me and called me His child. The promise that He Himself would go with me step by step.

There is a mystery to the will of God. God is exalted beyond my understanding. And yet I find this promise in His word, "For the High and Exalted One who lives forever, whose name is Holy says this: 'I live in a high and holy place, and with the oppressed and lowly of spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and revive the heart of the oppressed.'" (Isaiah 56:15) Not only does God live a high and a holy place He also lives with and in those who humbly reach out for His hand.

I have lived my life believing that one step was far enough for faith to see. I have found comfort not only in the promise that my hand was being held but that I had a good shepherd who was leading me. It has been many years since I was a young person leaving home for the first time, yet I still cling to the promises I found in that poem from long ago. "Wherefore go gladly to the task assigned thee. Having my promise, needing nothing more, than just to know, where'ere the future finds thee, in all thy journeying I go before."