“Now you are the body of Christ,
and each one of you is a part of it”
I Corinthians 12:27

I Want to Hold your Hand
April 15, 2020 by Pastor Bob Bolt

“I Want to Hold Your Hand”.  When I hear that phrase I think of 4 mushroom topped youthful English men prancing about and singing on the Ed Sullivan Show back in the 60’s.  The song, I liked… but why call yourself something most people don’t like … the Beatles?

The Beatles weren’t the originators of that line, God was!

God wants to hold your hand.
God wants to walk along with you throughout all of your life both the mountains and valleys.
He wants you to know that He is there to protect you.
He wants you to know that He deeply loves you and that you are His dear child.
So when you are frightened or you’re not confident in what you are doing or called to do, God says “I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand”.  Isaiah 42:6

Sometime on Easter Sunday, Jesus was walking from Jerusalem to a little town called Emmaus. He came alongside of two of his followers who were horrible fearful and confused.  They obviously didn’t recognize their Rabbi Jesus even when Jesus asked them what they were discussing. Luke in his gospel tells us their reaction, “They stood still, their faces downcast. One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened there these days”.

At first, I always wondered to myself, “Why didn’t they recognize Jesus?”  For heaven sakes…here Jesus is walking alongside you, talking with you and teaching you, and you don’t recognize him? I’d preferred that these disciples would have been initially surprised but quickly move to being filled with Joy seeing the resurrected Christ (and maybe even giving Him a high five!)   Instead Jesus doesn’t immediately tell them who He is. Rather, as he walks on the road to Emmaus he walks through the scriptures with them. He explains all that Moses and the Prophets have said concerning himself.

I’m glad Luke didn’t record my version of the story!  I know for myself, that when I am confused and scared I don’t always recognize the Lord even when He is walking right alongside of me.  Like Peter when he stepped out of the boat and began to sink, I too take my eyes off Jesus.  When I watch too much evening news, I take my eye off Jesus.  Maybe when I lose my job, or something goes horribly wrong with my health, I fail to recognize the risen Lord walking alongside of me in all of my uphill and downhill battles.

Perhaps Jesus is talking to me this day.  Maybe he is directing me to the stories in the Old Testament to let me know that God has a plan and is faithfully working it out.  Maybe I need to hear the voices of the prophets. A prophet like Isaiah tells me that “God will take hold of my hand”.  I don’t need to be afraid.  The reason is that God is in control. He has conquered all things.  The proof is that Jesus Christ, God’s son has risen and is alive and doing well not only in heaven but here right next to me walking by his Holy Spirit.

Can you hear Jesus above all the commotion and confusion going on around you?
Can you hear Him say?
“I want to hold your hand.”
All you have to do is reach out and grab it!

Prayer
Lord Jesus, Forgive me when I loss sight of you!
Even when I feel like I’m about to drowned in my fears, you are with me.
Help me to focus my eyes on you and to reach out and grab your hand.
Amen