Hold On!

September 22, 2022

Hold On!

We were invited to a neighborhood picnic last evening.  It was nice to visit with neighbors we have already met as well as meet neighbors we have not yet met.  It was an evening filled with blessings and new friends.  I am grateful!

As good as everything was last evening, the picnic was also a reminder that we have other friends who do not live in our neighborhood or even our city.  I was also aware there is some considerable distance to be traveled when we want to visit with family.

Last evening, I could feel the kind of loneliness that comes when we are separated from long-time friends and family lives far away.  Most days, I put my energy into meeting new people and making new friends.

However, there are some days like last Tuesday when all the new people are busy with their friends and family and I lament; “I have no one with whom I can visit.”

I know that statement is not entirely true.  But, there is some truth to my grief and the sadness that comes with it. 

The Apostle John tells us about the day Jesus meets a woman at the town well.  She is doing the mundane household chore of bringing fresh water to the house.  Jesus is traveling through the area with a great mission stirring in His heart.

The two meet at the well where Jesus engages the woman in conversation.  She has had a hard life, likely made some poor choices, and is alone in a very public place.  She has failed at marriage multiple times, likely has no friends in the town where she lives, and is seeking a new way of living and loving.

She is disconnected and detached and…barely holding on.  And yet, in a conversation with Jesus she discovers something she had forgotten or may never knew; God loved her, Jesus accepted her, and the Holy Spirit was with her.

In John 4:29 the woman says; “Come and see a man (Jesus) who told me everything I have ever done!  He cannot be the Messiah, can he?”  She realizes that Jesus knows her and still loves her.  That confidence is amazing for a woman who is so broken and alone and afraid. 

Jesus holds on to her (and you and me!) when we are not sure there is anything worth holding onto.  On Tuesday evening of this week, I attended a Lauren Daigle concert at the Red Rocks Amphitheater near Denver, Colorado.

One of the songs Lauren sang was, “Hold On To Me!”  The opening line reminds me of the woman with whom Jesus speaks at the town well.  Lauren writes;

“When the best of me is barely breathin’
When I’m not somebody I believe in
Hold on to me”

Maybe one of your friends is needing to discover (or re-discover!) that Jesus knows them, still loves them, and is holding onto them.  It might be worth a little time to grab a cup of coffee with them this week so you can share the story of a woman who felt all alone and afraid and broken.

The refrain of Lauren Daigle’s song is a promise for those who need someone to hold them.  Lauren invites Jesus to hold her when she writes;

“Hold on to me when it’s too dark to see You
When I am sure I have reached the end
Hold on to me when I forget I need You
When I let go, hold me again”

When we know the love of friends and family as well as the promise that Jesus is still holding on to me, our heart will be filled with delight in the Lord.  Maybe today is the day you can engage Jesus in a conversation that will restore your joy.

Take Delight In The Lord!

Doug

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