Holding Hands

Wednesday Wanderings with Dr. Sherri is biweekly and a time we set aside to wander in the Presence of Jesus and ponder His truths. When you are ready, prepare your mind, body, and soul to have a transformational encounter with Jesus.

Watch the Wednesday Wanderings Welcome for this week.

Now that we have cleared our minds of the clutter, we can wander on the journey with Jesus.

PREPARATION: In our last Wandering with Dr. Sherri, we examined Waiting to Return to Normal. This week we will investigate Holding Hands with God.  When you are ready, you may begin the dialogue with Jesus and state: “Jesus, I invite you to help me to leisurely wander into your Presence. Prepare my heart to receive, and illuminate my spiritual senses to encounter you.”

PROMISE:  Romans 15:13 Amplified 

Throughout this pandemic people have shared with me that their hope was challenged. This is a natural response to trauma. Swift traumatic transitions can cause doubt and challenge our hope.  To regain our hope, we may have to let go of some things we are holding on to and put our hand in God’s unchanging hand.

Time is filled with swift transition,

Naught of earth unmoved can stand,

Build your hopes on things eternal,
Hold to God’s unchanging hand

Jennie (the writer of this hymn) was aware of swift transitions and the quick vapor of life.  Within her life she quickly lost her father, was also striken with typhoid fever and left an invalid. Yet from the lifetime seat of a wheelchair, she choose to put her hope in our expeditious God’s unchanging hand.

PARABLE: When my son was younger, I held his hand to keep him safe because without warning, he would rapidly dart towards whatever adventure drew in his curious eyes.  Though holding his hand did not keep him from breaking loose, I had hope that if I had his hand I could keep him safe.  At one point, I contemplated purchasing a harness leash because of his abrubt movements.

We know from the COVID-19 experience that time is filled with swift transitions, rapid changes, unannounced detours, alerting digressions, quick movements that challenge our hope. When the pain of the cirucumstance challenges our hope and draws our attention away from God we may want to dart toward a pain killer (hurt, habit, hang up, depression, anxiety, fear, etc.). Instead, we can lock our fingers into the tight grip of God’s unchanging loving hand. As we hold to God’s safe and secure hand, His touch will fill us with joy and peace.  God’s hand stretches far enough to allow us to wander but holds us tight enough to pull us close. His present help gently gives us room to explore yet firmly directs our path. Every swift transition we experience in life has the potential for growth. Holding God’s hand through the experience will result in growing forward and transformative change.

How do we withstand the swift transitions that accompany growing forward? We place our hand in Our God of hope and trust in the bright and hopeful future He has for us. While you grow forward from the trauma of COVID-19 and other sudden raumas of life, make sure to H.O.L.D. to God’s unchanging hand. 

PONDER and WANDER:  As we work through the grief attached to COVID-19 and other traumas in life, holding to God’s hand will reassure us that we do not journey alone. We are accompanied by Emmanuel and we are journeying forward to the bright and hopeful path God has predestined for us. 

The soul training HOLD exercise can assist us in harnassing our life in God’s hands.

Soul care training exercise: If you choose, complete the H.O.L.D. exercise.

• When you are ready, clear your mind and invite the Holy Spirit to help you H.O.L.D. God’s hand and hand over the weights that are holding you back from discovering the purpose of the pain.
• Next,  Open your heart to discovering the deliverance needed to bring you to your destiny. Open your hand and let go of the stronghold that is causing a barrier to you trusting in God’s bright and hopeful plan.
• Then, Listen for the guidance of the Holy Spirit’s direction of how to break the hold your hurt, habit, or hang up has on you.
• Finally, Decide to grasp, clutch, clasp, and hold to the hand of God who is our source of hope, joy, and peace in the midst of swift transitions.

PRAYER: Daddy, your hand is my safety harness that keeps me connected to eternal hope. It only takes on tragedy to make me want to run off. But thanks be to God that there is no where I can run that you will not come to find me. Help me to clutch your unchanging hand and to fight my traumas by handing them over to you. In the healing name of Jesus I pray, Amen. 

PRAISE: Now that you have emptied your mind of the clutter and wandered with Jesus, take a closing moment to breathe in and let the work of your wandering fill you with strength.

Then take the mindfulness of God’s presence cultivated in these last few minutes of wandering into the next ones and beyond.

Until next time, be Resonant.

The post Holding Hands appeared first on Resonant 7.

_{Image Attributions:
Hope in God’s Hand: Mercy Health Healing Garden photo with text added
Swift Transitions: Pixabay}

BONUS REFLECTION: Hand holding is not always an easy task. Sometimes we need reminded that our hope is in God’s hands. If you choose, take a few minutes to view this guided reflection.