Hold Fast
4 min read
23 Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
— Psalm 73:23-26
When my focus and attention are on the treasures and rewards of this world, I can get easily discouraged. And when I am discouraged, I am a poor witness of Jesus Christ.
It’s not that I am not allowed to be discouraged. Asaph was discouraged according to this psalm. I am allowed to be discouraged, because this world is often discouraging.
But I need to hold fast to the reality of Christ in my life. If I understand and embrace and pursue the Father’s business in my life, I am not a servant of Christ, but a friend of Christ (John 15:13-15). And He holds me by my right hand. The right hand is the hand of strength.
I am a friend of Christ and He holds me by my right hand. That is the reality of Christ in my life.
And if that reality is the starting point of how I process and respond to the circumstances of my life, I may still get discouraged by the injustice and brokenness I experience in this world, but I can’t stay discouraged for long.
But what if the injustice and brokenness I experience in my circumstances are particularly heavy, particularly burdensome, particularly persistent, particularly discouraging?
Then we can hold fast to the promise of eternal life—the promise of eternal peace and joy in Christ.
And because of that promise, we can hold fast in this life through the struggle, for Christ is faithful. Christ is my Shield. He is my very great Reward (Genesis 15:1).
What I’ve learned in my life
One thing greater than my strife
Is Your grasp
So hold fast
Father, You are ever faithful, and You are ever ready to rescue me from the discouragement I may feel. You hold me by my right hand. I can hold fast to the knowledge of Your love for me because You are holding fast to me. I will declare Your praise no matter the circumstances, but be our Help, for we are Your children, and You are our Father. In Jesus’s name. Amen.
