Securely Held

This morning, the chair across from me is empty. The view from where I sit is glorious on this second day of October. There’s a slight breeze provided by the fan above me and an accompaniment of birds singing. I choose this spot as often as I can to bask in the glory of the Lord and sit in His presence as I meditate on His word. Today is sunny but even after dark or during a storm, “the heavens display the glory of God” in a profound way no matter where I am.

“The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known. They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard. Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world.”

Psalms 19:1-4 NLT

https://bible.com/bible/116/psa.19.1-4.NLT

On other days, I occupy this now empty seat. I offer the view to my guests and watch their faces for signs of recognition and delight. The view is magnificent and I am certainly blessed to enjoy it but the God who created it and provides its ever changing glory is to be praised!

“They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen.”

Romans 1:25 NLT

https://bible.com/bible/116/rom.1.25.NLT

I have been acquainted with this God of creation since childhood and I have trusted him as Savior and Lord for the past 41 years. He has carried me often and given me a firm foundation on which to stand always. I have run ahead, sometimes chasing delight and other times like a willful child, but He has relentlessly pursued me to this day. I find it difficult to imagine a world without God in the same way I have difficulty remembering my life before my husband or an existence without him.

“God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.”

Psalms 46:1 NLT

https://bible.com/bible/116/psa.46.1.NLT

“We put our hope in the Lord. He is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name.”

Psalms 33:20-21 NLT

https://bible.com/bible/116/psa.33.20-21.NLT

It is also difficult for me to comprehend how anyone could survive in a world without Him. I constantly find the edges of myself, the places where my competency ends and I begin to grasp as though falling for a firm hold. I have clawed at those around me often enough, asking them to be my stronghold, only to drag them with me into my headlong plummet. No one and nothing in this world can hold me the way my God can.

“O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water. I have seen you in your sanctuary and gazed upon your power and glory. Your unfailing love is better than life itself; how I praise you! I will praise you as long as I live, lifting up my hands to you in prayer. You satisfy me more than the richest feast. I will praise you with songs of joy. I lie awake thinking of you, meditating on you through the night. Because you are my helper, I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings. I cling to you; your strong right hand holds me securely.”

Psalms 63:1-8 NLT

https://bible.com/bible/116/psa.63.1-8.NLT

“I love you, Lord; you are my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety. You have given me your shield of victory. Your right hand supports me; your help has made me great. You have made a wide path for my feet to keep them from slipping. The Lord lives! Praise to my Rock! May the God of my salvation be exalted!”

Psalms 18:1-2, 35-36, 46 NLT

https://bible.com/bible/116/psa.18.1-46.NLT

It may be difficult to understand my surrender to or dependency on a spirit being whose existence has been acknowledged and argued since before I was born, but I trust in God’s Word as absolute truth.

“No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us. When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths. But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means.”

1 Corinthians 2:11-14 NLT

https://bible.com/bible/116/1co.2.11-14.NLT

“Therefore, since God in his mercy has given us this new way, we never give up. We reject all shameful deeds and underhanded methods. We don’t try to trick anyone or distort the word of God. We tell the truth before God, and all who are honest know this.

If the Good News we preach is hidden behind a veil, it is hidden only from people who are perishing. Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.

For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.

But we continue to preach because we have the same kind of faith the psalmist had when he said, “I believed in God, so I spoke.”

We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus, will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself together with you. All of this is for your benefit. And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory.

That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!

So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.”

2 Corinthians 4:1-4, 6-7, 13-18 NLT

https://bible.com/bible/116/2co.4.4-18.NLT

We are eternal beings and one day soon, we will all have spiritual bodies designed to last forever. I cannot see it now, but I believe it.

“Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”

1 Peter 1:8-9 NIV

https://bible.com/bible/111/1pe.1.8-9.NIV

I agree in prayer with Jesus, who prayed, “O righteous Father, the world doesn’t know you, but I do; and these disciples know you sent me. I have revealed you to them, and I will continue to do so. Then your love for me will be in them, and I will be in them.”

John 17:25-26 NLT

https://bible.com/bible/116/jhn.17.25-26.NLT

“Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.” (Revelation 22:20)