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Holding Hands

Holding Hands [Father’s Day]

June 15, 2007

Text: Psalm 37:1-7, 23-24

Ps 37:1-7, 23-24

Do not fret because of the wicked;

do not be envious of wrongdoers,

2 for they will soon fade like the grass,

and wither like the green herb.

3 Trust in the LORD, and do good;

so you will live in the land, and enjoy security.

4 Take delight in the LORD,

and he will give you the desires of your heart.

5 Commit your way to the LORD;

trust in him, and he will act.

6 He will make your vindication shine like the light,

and the justice of your cause like the noonday.

7 Be still before the LORD, and wait patiently for him;

do not fret over those who prosper in their way,

over those who carry out evil devices…

23 Our steps are made firm by the LORD,

when he delights in our way;

24 though we stumble, we shall not fall headlong,

for the LORD holds us by the hand.

NRSV

What scared you as a kid?

How about DOCTORS?

They’d poke and prod. They put that wooden tongue depressor that’s a foot long into your mouth and tell you to say “Ahh!” Then, to top things off, they send in the nurse—the one who looks like she could be the sister of Freddy Krueger—and she’s carrying a needle THIS BIG!

Perhaps I exaggerate.

You know what else was scary as a kid?

DENTISTS.

You go into their funny smelling office. You hear the mosquito-whine of a high speed drill, just beyond a wall. And then, at the end of your checkup, they cover your eyes and say, “I’m going to pinch your gums just a little.” I thought that’s what they were really doing, and I thought the numbing sensation was sort of neat, so I’d go around pinching my gums. Only later did I discover that what they were really doing was shooting me with a needle THAT BIG!

Perhaps I exaggerate.

But going to the doctor and dentist was not an option as a kid, was it? And what did it take to get you into their offices?

It took someone who loved you, someone you trusted, to take you by the hand, saying, “It’s time to go—and I’ll go with you.”

With those words, and with the assurance of a hand much larger than your own, you felt the courage to go into the land of big needles. You knew things would be OK.

As you grow up, things still scare you, don’t they?

The big needles are still out there, but their appearance changes.

There’s the boss. The shaky job. The shakier finances.

There’s the past mistake you made. The guilt you can’t shake. The fingers pointing at you, including your own.

There are the times you feel weak, helpless, out of control. The lost love. The lost health. The lost security.

There are those relationships—with a spouse, a child, a friend—that venture into unknown waters as storms blow in. You don’t know if the relationship can stand it, and it scares you.

The psalmist knew the feeling of having such big needles poked into you.

For him, it was the experience of being a victim of whom he called the “wicked” and the “wrong doers.” If you read the passage carefully, you get the sense that these were people who tempted him to do something wrong in order to get ahead. Who knows what it was, but it was most certainly the adult version of peer pressure. When the psalmist refused to compromise his values or faith, they ridiculed him. Called him names. Didn’t invite him to parties any more. Isolated him.

He agonized over this. After all, they had been his friends. They had shared good times together. Now, he’s all alone. Perhaps he questions himself, and his faith. But he says to himself at the same time something like, “I will never give up, or give in. No matter if they desert me, I will hold on to the one in whom I have believed!”

And as he does so, he experiences that which is indescribable. The best he can express it is in terms we can relate to—as we face nurse Ratchet in the doctor’s office:

Our steps are made firm by the LORD,

when he delights in our way;

24 though we stumble, we shall not fall headlong,

for the LORD holds us by the hand!

“Holds us by the hand.”

That brings back memories. Accompany me on a brief trip down memory lane.

Another thing that scared me as a kid?

Sunday School at the 1^st Baptist Church.

Don’t know why. I just didn’t want to go in—scared of the other kids, I guess. But Daddy took me by the hand, and went in there with me, and sat on the back row in the tiny chairs, along with the other 4 year olds. I remember the feel of his hand, and the comfort of his presence.

I didn’t always feel his big hand, though.

When mother died when I was four, Dad was faced with providing for and raising two small children on his own. That got to be overwhelming for him. He eventually broke under the pressure. He was away from us for a little bit of time. People back then called it a “nervous breakdown.”

But yet, he came back to my sister and me—maybe we were the reason he was able to get through whatever it was he got through. And once again, we felt the assurance of his big hand.

He bought some land in the country. As I grew into my teen years, he’d walk with me and explain things we’d discover in the woods—everything from squirrel dens to May flowers to puff adder snakes to how beagle hounds track rabbits. Sometimes his hand would naturally reach out and take mine, although our hands weren’t quite as good a fit, because mine was getting bigger.

Years passed. Life passed. And the last time I remember holding Dad’s hand was when he had turned 90. On that Friday afternoon, as he was in a coma, I knelt by his bed, grasping that hand. That hand that had guided me in childhood no longer had any strength left. I squeezed it tight, hoping for some squeeze back, but there was none. Then, even as I silently prayed for his passing, he slipped away: he reached out for an unseen hand that took his, and led him into “that home not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.”

We need people like a Dad to hold our hands. You know who they are in your life, don’t you? People who encouraged you when you were hesitant to go into that Sunday School room? People who went through a tremendous amount of pain and suffering, but emerged on the other side stronger and wiser, scarred but more beautiful? People who did their best to come back and be by your side for as long as possible, because they loved you, and didn’t want to give you up by the inconvenience of death?

If there is not a better image of God’s love for you, I don’t know what it is.

When you imagine the face of God, imagine the face of the one Jesus called “Abba,” “Daddy.” Daddy is the one who sees the bonsai in you, when you only see the shrub, remember? Daddy is the one proud of you, in spite of your failings. Daddy is the one calling you the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen, even though you see only acne breaking out on your face. Daddy is the one not afraid to suffer, in order to be by your side. Daddy is the one who keeps calling you—texting you—when you feel you don’t need him and can make it on your own. Daddy is the one who is there when you stumble, and reaches out the hand to keep you from falling.

This Daddy always reaches out that big, strong hand to you. Those who hold your hand in this life will always relax their grip on you. But the One who loves you with that Jesus love—His grip only grows stronger.

The question is: Will you keep your hand in His, or will you pull it away?

The psalmist knows how he’ll answer.

Look at the commands he gives us:

Trust in the LORD

BELIEVE “DAD’S” HAND IS STRONG! God isn’t some principle, some thought. God is a REAL, STRONG presence in this world. In biblical imagery, God subdues the sea dragon. In modern imagery, God subdues the cancer, the terrorist, the confused mind.

Take delight in the LORD

BELIEVE THAT THE MOST JOY YOU CAN GET IN LIFE IS HOLDING “DADDY’S” HAND! You want happiness? You’re not going to find it in the right stock, the right mate, the right house, or the right car. You’ll find happiness only when you align yourself with God and God’s standards, not the world’s.

Commit your way to the LORD

PLACE DADDY FIRST, CONCRETELY. Do you start your day by having quiet time with Dad? How often do you go to church? Do you make a difference in someone’s life each week—some act of kindness? When you get your paycheck, who do you give to first—the credit card company, the bank, or God? When you get your tax rebate check, who will you give to first?

Be still before the LORD

WHEN YOU’VE PLACED A PROBLEM IN DADDY’S HANDS, DON’T TAKE IT OUT OF DADDY’S HANDS! We tend to go for quick fixes, don’t we? We push panic buttons. And how often do we end up making matters worse. But Dad knows more than we do. Dad works best behind the scenes, where we don’t get in the way. When we’ve finished act one on the stage, the curtain opens, and my—what a wonderful, new scene God’s prepared! BE PATIENT!

Four ways to keep our hand in God’s. Which is most important to you, right now?

Malcolm Simpson told of a time when he was working in a dementia unit of a nursing home. He was to take Rachel for a walk. When the door opened for them to go outside, Rachel’s legs locked—she panicked, going into a new area.

Malcolm said he took her by the hand, and spoke to her in a quiet, reassuring tone. He said that was enough for her to regain confidence, and with a smile they walked outside together, into a bright afternoon.

Sometimes, as we go through life, our legs lock.

When that happens, don’t let go of the strong One who’s holding your hand. Your steps ARE “made firm by the Lord”…

…As you walk through opened doors, and into a new day.

By the way—if God so reaches out to us: what does that say about who we ought to be reaching out to?