June 25, 2021 -- Psalm 91:14 -- Holding Fast to God the Father
/Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him;
I will protect him, because he knows my name.
Psalm 91:14 English Standard Version
When our four-month-old grandson visited, we as grandparents had the pleasure of spending time with him and watching our daughter interact with him. At one point he started crying. So our daughter went through all the usual list of questions in order to determine what might be causing outburst. His diaper was clean. Check. He had just been fed. Check. He is not crying sharply as if in pain. Check. He is not tired. Check. He might be teething? Perhaps. He might just be restless. Maybe.
It is interesting though, when this little guy was picked up by his mamma, he was comforted. When she smiles at him he reacts. He wiggles. His eyes follow her. No matter the troubles bothering him, the bond of love brings great comfort to this little one.
What a beautiful image that is for us as Christians. We are like tiny babies in the presence of the Father Who is mighty, glorious, great, perfect, wise, righteous and loving. We squirm and fuss, we barely know what troubles our souls and we cry out, but He hears. He answers. In fact, unlike an earthly parent, He knows absolutely what is wrong even before a word is on our tongue or our minds know how to formulate what we want to say.
We hold fast to Him in love. We know He is the source of every good in our lives. Christ has been given so that we have a flesh and blood elder brother Who brings us into the presence of our beloved Father. The Father and the Son give us the Spirit Who lives in us so that the deepest needs of our heart, mind and souls are fully and deeply known by the Spirit. It is the Spirit Who prays deep within us, making even our most unformulated thoughts and needs known to our Father in heaven. Yet, what we realize by the powerful presence of the Spirit of God is that it is He, the Triune God, Who holds us fast—tightly to Himself
Sheltering LORD, the Refuge and Fortress of all who believe, with the writer of the Psalm we confess, “You are my God, in whom I trust”. Thank You that we live our lives under the shadow of Your wings and surrounded by Your guardian angels. Spirit of the Living God, increase our capacity to love Jesus Christ, so that we may hold ever more dearly and tightly to our Father in heaven until we are ultimately rescued from this life and world and in His presence, in the Light of His glory and that radiance of the Son we are satisfied with long life, salvation joy which stretches through eternity. Amen.
Today's prayer is composed using various phrases and expressions from Psalm 91
https://youtu.be/936BapRFHaQ