“For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand
and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.”
Isaiah 41:13 (NIV)
Holding a child’s hand is a gesture of protection, guiding them safely through danger. Lovers hold hands to express mutual love. Holding a friend’s hand in trouble, comforts them with your presence.
Jesus is all of the above, since we are His children, His bride, and His friends. Isaiah tells us that the hands of the Lord are always outstretched towards us. We live busy lives, using our hands to work, serve, and comfort others. Our hands are symbols of our own efforts, our contribution to this world, as Martha’s busy hands were, when Jesus visited her home. Jesus told Martha she was anxious about too many things, and should only be concerned about one thing. Mary, her sister, chose that one thing, spend time adoring Jesus in His presence. Between Mary’s devotion and Martha’s anxiety, Jesus reminds us to find time to pause our busy hands and find His.
When I was five, I dreamed someone took hold of my right hand and walked me out of a school building that was on fire. I was led peacefully through the halls, around corners and out the door of the burning school. When I looked up, Jesus was holding my right hand. It was a divine life lesson through a vivid dream. Life is like a school, where we walk through fiery trials, as we grow in our relationship with Jesus. All that happens in our “school of life” is benefiting us for an eternal purpose, because this school is not to make us scholars, but saints. I didn’t need to know where the exit signs were in my childhood dream, because Jesus knew and He held my hand.
In the fiery trials of life, when we have no control, filled with panic and confusion, Jesus is at our side holding our hand, and leading us. He never promised to put out all the fires in our lives, but He knows where all the fire exits are. Whenever I become over burdened and stressed, I close my eyes and recall my dream, raising my right hand to Jesus. He loves you and always stands before you, reaching for your hand to lead you through the fires of life in perfect peace, saying “Don’t be afraid, give Me your hand and I will help you.”
