"…I am the Bread of Life. The person who aligns with me hungers no more and thirsts no more, EVER. I have told you this explicitly because you don't believe me even though you have seen me in action. Every person the Father gives me eventually comes running to me. AND ONCE THAT PERSON IS WITH ME, I HOLD ON AND DON'T LET GO…" (John 6:35-38 MSG).
The events of September 11, 2001, changed many things, including our definition of the word "hero." Because we saw, up close and personal, what REAL Heroes look like – and they look like those police and firefighters, medical personnel and even volunteers, who went into those burning towers, knowing full well that they might not come out alive, yet willingly entered in regardless, for no other reason than the fact that there were people in desperate need of a rescue!
Immediately, professional football and baseball players began to speak out, telling the world they weren't the real heroes! The people who risk their lives every day to save others are!
By that definition, the rescue swimmers of the United States Coast Guard more than qualify! We saw them in action after Hurricane Katrina submerged much of New Orleans! They were the men dangling from those helicopters, scooping desperate people off rooftops! Now, believe it or not, that was easy compared to some of their rescues, like plunging from a hovering chopper into an angry sea to save a life! A movie told the story of these heroes and portrayed how they lived out their motto: "So others may live." A seasoned veteran training a class of rookies shows them the depth of a rescuer's life-saving commitment. It's all about grabbing the hand of a person about to die and making this promise: "I won't let go." And They Don't!
Those four words touch a nerve in my heart, and I pray they will do the same for yours! Four small words that make a significant promise: "I Won't Let Go." If we dared to be completely transparent, that's what we all want: someone that means business when they say I will never let you go! But unfortunately, our lives are littered with many who shouldn't have let go But Did! Promised Not to Let Go But Did! Vowed to Not Let Go But Did! Parents who didn't hold on as you needed them to, spouses who cut their commitment date short, friends you thought would always be there who aren't anymore, the family that became foes, a boyfriend, a girlfriend, or old college pal you thought you'd share fond memories with for a lifetime, co-workers you figured you'd celebrate retirement with or a ministry you thought would support you through it all. Unfortunately, it seems as if no one can always be there to hold on when we're going down; even a great husband or wife far too often falls short of fulfilling the vow never to let go. And there are numerous reasons as to why people let go: People change. People leave. People are human. People die. And the list goes on and on.
However, thanks to God; HE IS NOT LIKE MAN!
Years ago, there was a movie with a title that stuck with me: "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter." In truth, our hearts are hunting for an anchorperson, that one person who will grab our hand and never let go. No matter what changes, no matter how we look or act or evolve down through the years, especially when the storm is about to sink us!
Millions of people have grabbed that ONE hand that will NEVER let go, and HE NEVER HAS! After all, He's the One who made the promise: "‘…NEVER will I leave you; NEVER will I forsake you…. ‘
I love God’s use of the word ‘NEVER’ because it means: ‘not ever; not at all; definitely or surely not; at no time in the past, present or future; not under any circumstance or condition; not to any level or degree.’
Now that’s what you call an iron-clad guarantee! Completely unbreakable!
This is His promise to you, and God always keeps His promises!
“…the words that come out of My mouth will not come back empty-handed. They’ll do the work I sent them to do, they’ll complete the assignment I gave them.” (Isaiah 55:11 MSG).
“Whatever God has promised gets stamped with the Yes of Jesus…” (2 Corinthians 1:20 MSG).
“God is not a man, that He should tell or act a lie, neither the son of man, that He should feel repentance or compunction [for what He has promised]. Has He said and shall He not do it? Or has He spoken, and shall He not make it good?” (Numbers 23:19 AMPC)
“That’s right,” the Lord replied, “and I always rise early to keep a promise.” (Jeremiah 1:12 CEV)
That’s why you can say with Complete Confidence no matter what you’re dealing with: ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?’” (Psalm 27:1) A few other translations read like this:
“The Lord is my light and my salvation – Whom shall, I fear? The Lord is the refuge and fortress of my life – Who shall I dread?” (AMP)
“…So, with him on my side, I’m fearless, afraid of no one and nothing.” (MSG)
The God that holds your hand is your HELPER, LIGHT, SALVATION, REFUGE, FORTRESS, STRONGHOLD, PROTECTOR OF YOUR LIFE, AND KEEPS YOU SAFE FROM ALL DANGERS! Therefore, you do not need to be afraid, fearful, dreading, frightened of anything or anyone! Your God, who has promised to keep His hand on you, and to keep you in the palm of His hand, will never let you go, no matter what attaches itself to you! That you can take comfort in!
That promise is from Jesus Christ Himself- the One who loved you enough to die in your place to pay for the sins that have always put God out of your reach.
Listen to how Scripture says it:
“For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) He shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life.” (John 3:16 AMP).
“…God put the wrong on Him who never did anything wrong so that we could be put right with God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21 MSG).
“But God shows and proves His [own] love for us by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One) died for us.” (Romans 5:8 AMP).
That’s how much you mean to God! He allowed His Son’s Hands to be Nailed in Excruciating Pain just so those Same Hands could Hold You and Never Let You Go! That’s shouting material right there! Not even nails could make Him let you go!
A lot of people may have failed to hang on. But remember this: JESUS WILL NEVER FAIL YOU! AND HE MOST CERTAINLY WILL NEVER LET GO OF YOU! He says of those who come to Him, “…I am the Bread of Life. The person who aligns with me hungers no more and thirsts no more, EVER. I have told you this explicitly because you don't believe me even though you have seen me in action. Every person the Father gives me eventually comes running to me. AND ONCE THAT PERSON IS WITH ME, I HOLD ON AND DON’T LET GO…” (John 6:35-38 MSG).
LISTEN: If He were ever going to turn His back on you, it would have been when He was enduring YOUR punishment on the cross! But He stayed there so you could live with Him forever! He will not abandon the one He paid for with His blood and life! When He died for you, He proved He’d got love for you that won’t ever let you go!
When He walked out of His grave, He proved He’s got the power to hold onto you through everything life, and even death can throw at you! This means the government shutdown can’t release His hand; the foreclosure can’t release His hand; the diagnosis and disease can’t release His hand; the bankruptcy can’t release His hand; the divorce can’t release His hand; the layoff can’t release His hand; the addiction can’t release His hand; the bad habits can’t release His hand; the temptation can’t release His hand! ABSOLUTELY NOTHING AND NO ONE, NOT EVEN YOU, CAN RELEASE THE HOLD OF THE HAND OF GOD ON YOUR LIFE!
So, stop crying; stop fretting; stop walking in fear; stop panicking; stop pacing the floor; stop losing sleep; stop trying to come up with a backup plan for God; stop hoping for human hands to fix it; stop reading the horoscopes; stop stalking the Prophets! JUST STOP!
And then START praising God; worshiping God; walking by faith and not by sight; trust God for a favor; live in peace; kneel in prayer; rest in God’s faithfulness; remember that He has numbered every strand of hair on your head and hasn’t lost count of one, nor will He ever lose sight of you! So, trust the plan, power, and purpose of God; fulfill the will of God; seek Him, not them; read the Word of God; and get somewhere and be still and quiet and remember that He is still God, the same God that has been holding you all this time and will not ever let you go!
Yes, I know it’s too much for you to handle, but thanks be to God that you don’t have to handle it! You serve a God with Hands bigger and stronger than yours, and He’s got it and you right in the palm of them. You are safe; you are good; you are well; you are healed; you are delivered, you are whole; you are peaceful; you are joyful; you are confident; you are reassured; you are now walking into a new level of trusting God with everything and all things!
So, Remember Today That No Matter What’s Got A Hold Of You…He Will Never Let Your Hands Go! Use Prayer To Release It From Your Hands Into His, And Then Don’t Attempt To Take It Back Or Check Up On It Or See How God’s Doing With All Your Stuff! Put It In His Hands Because He Can Handle It! Then Rest Well Tonight, Knowing With Unshakeable Confidence That It Is Handled!
“For He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!] So, we take comfort and are encouraged and confidently and boldly say, The Lord is my helper; I will not be seized with alarm [I will not fear or dread or be terrified]. What can man do to me?” (Hebrews 13:5-6 AMP)
1 Peter 5:6-7, “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God [set aside self-righteous pride], so that He may exalt you [to a place of honor in His service] at the appropriate time, casting all your cares [all your anxieties, all your worries, and all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares about you [with deepest affection, and watches over you very carefully].” (AMP)
John 10:28, “And I give them eternal life, and they will never, ever [by any means] perish; and no one will ever snatch them out of My hand.” (AMP)
“Nothing can shake those who are secure in God’s hands.” (Author Unknown)
“My unknown future is in the hands of the all-knowing God.” (Author Unknown)
“The mighty hand of God is upon me. I shall not be shaken.” (Lailah Gifty Akita)
“I have held many things in my hands, and I have lost them all; but whatever I have placed in God’s hands, that I still possess.” (Martin Luther)
“If we want to know the Glory of God; if we want to experience the beauty of God; and if we want to be Used by the Hand of God, then we must LIVE in the Word of God.” (David Platt)
“Surrender the thing you fear into the hands of God. Turn it right over to God and ask Him to solve it with you. Fear is keeping things in your own hands; faith is turning them over into the hands of God.” (E. Stanley Jones)
“If GOD could close the mouth of the lions for Daniel; part the red sea for Moses; make the sun stand still for Joshua; open the prison for Peter; put a baby in the arms of Sarah and raise Lazarus from the dead; then He can certainly take care of you! Nothing you are facing today is too hard for His Hands to Handle!” (Author Unknown)
Blessings
J.P. Olson
www.thewordwithjpolson.com
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