Hand in hand

Gavin, my grandson who is 3, and I walked, holding hands. It was a wonderful moment that left me full of emotion. When a large vehicle approached, his little hand tightened on mine as if to say, "Keep me safe, Grandpa." At one point as we walked past some mud on the side of the road, I felt his grip loosen and knew his intent in a second, so I gently held on and pulled him back, sparing him some very muddy sneakers and a scolding from his Dad. We got to a dead-end side street and I said, "you can run ahead if you wish." He dropped my hand and danced a funny little wiggle around me, laughing in his 'independence' but even then stayed fairly close. When I asked him why he didn't run ahead, he replied, "because I don't know where your house is."

And God whispered to me, "I delight even more in you than you do in this little boy!"

In the grip of His grace there is both comfort and safety. When we hold tightly to Him, (that, at least, is the illusion. Truth is, He holds us more than we hold Him.) we sense the comfort He offers even when the questions pile up without immediate answers. Gavin had no idea where I was going and just a few minutes into our walk, if I had disappeared, he would have been lost, unable to find his way home. Once we left our house, he had to trust me. Similarly in our walk with God, we do not know where He's leading and, while He's given us our final destination, the way between here and there is often unknown.

But, we need not fear because He is a good God! I am amazed that He would want to walk with me, but He does. He promises, "I will not leave you as orphans." (John 14.18) Cynthia Clausen wrote a song that includes these lyrics,

He sees the Master plan.
He holds our future in His hands.
So don't live as those who have no hope.
All our hope is found in Him.
We walk in present knowledge,
but He sees the first and the last.
And like a tapestry, He's weaving you and me
to someday be just like Him.

God is too wise to be mistaken.
God is too good to be unkind.
So when you don't understand,
when you don't see His plan,
When you can't trace His hand, trust His heart.

More wonderful even is that He knows our intents and that we are prone to wander into the mud, too. If we are walking with Him, His Spirit will pull us back to spare us - if we'll listen!
I'm sure my quick tug on Gavin's hand was mysterious to him. "How could Grandpa know I wanted to get into that mud? Why won't he let me?" He didn't know that I know his little boy heart quite well. He asked, "why can't I walk over there?"
"Because it is sticky mud and it will make a mess of your shoes," I explained. All he saw was a spot of dirt that glistened with moisture inviting him to play. I saw the consequences and saved him from an unpleasant scene! Our Lord, the Bible says, "is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." That is not a threat to our joy. It is safety! He can see the consequences and, by His Spirit, warns us.

Are you walking with God?

This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin." (1 John 1:5-7, NKJV)