Hold Me

On a recent trip home from Kansas, the interstate went from a quick means of travel to a parking lot in an instant. As I crept forward at a snail’s pace, my mind began to dance with thoughts of irritation on how a trip that should be a short and sweet seven hours was going to take me well beyond that if this traffic kept up. Luckily my temperament was buffered by the grace of a strong signal from my favorite Contemporary Christian music station.  As I hummed along with Casting Crown’s song “Just be Held” for the fourth time that day, the lyrics suddenly spoke to me in a way that previously had not.  

So when you’re on your knees and answers seem so far away
You’re not alone, stop holding on and just be held
Your world’s not falling apart, it’s falling into place
I’m on the throne, stop holding on and just be held

As the chorus rang out through my vehicle, I was enveloped by the message and it immediately brought to mind something I had witnessed a few days previously while on vacation with my family. My son was playing with his three year old daughter.  At one point he scooped her up in his arms and said, “I’m holding you like a baby”.  She responded with a gleeful giggle and after a few seconds squirmed out of his arms and went to play with her cousins.  

My nine year old grandson had witnessed this exchange, and he went running over and said “Uncle Jared, will you hold me like a baby?”  A smile spread like wildfire across my son’s face as he quickly agreed and scooped him up in his arms and held him like a baby.  At that point, my grandson snuggled into his uncle, shut his eyes, and allowed himself to just be held. The quiet calm of their embrace echoed peace throughout the room. How nice it must feel to just be held simply because you asked someone to do it. 

Thinking back on this scene made me question if I had ever truly asked God to just hold me?  Especially during those times I feel like I could no longer hold on, or do I try my hardest to hang on depending solely on my own strength.  

There are times I have told my grandchildren to hop on my back, and I carry them piggy back.  When they do this, THEY need to hang on. This is much different from when I am carrying a child in my arms. During those times, I am in control of holding on, and they only need to trust me to not let go. As children, they fully do. 

Isn’t this exactly what God wants us to do? Doesn’t he want us to become like little children and trust him to never let us go? 
Proverbs 3:5 advises us to do just that, when it says Trust in the Lord with all your heart. We must echo the words we find in Psalms 56:3: When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.

So, as Casting Crowns says in the lyrics:

And when you’re tired of fighting
Chained by your control
There’s freedom in surrender
Lay it down and let it go

By the end of the song, I was more at peace on a gridlocked interstate than I had been in a long time. I know I am going to do better at asking God to just hold me, anyone want to join?