Hold On Tight - But Remember, His Hold On Us Is More Secure

I spent many hours as a child playing at the local school only a few blocks away from my home. The swings, monkey bars and slide were well used by all the children in the neighborhood and on a hot summer's day, we'd head to the little wooden merry-go-round. In today's world our favorite game might be a bit tame for today's youth who are used to the fast pace of video games, Wii and organized sports.

I think my favorite was the merry-go-round and at family reunions, there was a merry go round that I would get on with my sisters and cousins. If the boys would spin the merry go round, it seemed the faster it would go, the harder it was for me to hang on. I can still remember the feeling of gravity pulling me away from the center and that feeling of losing control and possibly falling off the merry go round. But, we would still yell “faster, faster” and the strong boys, especially my cousins, would try and spin us faster. While it was fun, I was also scared, hoping I wouldn’t fall off.

Sometimes, it appears the world around us is spinning out of control and we are caught off guard with the worries of family crises, church emergencies, financial issues and relational problems. All of these can threaten to throw us off balance and cause us to fall down. At such times, the wise Christian presses himself away from the situations and heads toward the center pole. As God's children, we have the comfort and refuge in having his everlasting arms wrapped around us, holding us closer still. If we rely on our own strength, it will eventually give out. For there is no safer place than being in the arms of a loving and caring God.

The whole Christian life is a life in which the further a person progresses, the more he has to depend directly on God... The more we progress, the less we are self-sufficient. The more we mature, the more we allow God to be our refuge and strength in times of need.

My challenge to all of us, as life spins on around us and we feel like we are going to lose our balance or we feel like we will fall, remember, there is someone to hang on to that will not let us fall. He will be with us even if it seems we are spinning too fast. Rely on Him and hold on tight to Him!