Recently, I took time to meditate on the words "holds" and "holding" in the Bible, and the study blessed and encouraged me. In this Christian Life UPGRADE, I want to share what I found.
There are three kinds of "holding" in a hope-filled life. Let's explore each of these.
1. We Hold onto Jesus.
The song "Anchor" by Hillsong Worship says, "I have this hope as an anchor for my soul; Through every storm I will hold to You."
There is a sense in which we "hold" onto Christ. We anchor our lives in Jesus, our Savior; we hold on tightly to Him.
Hebrews 6:18b-19a says,
. . . we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul. . . . (ESV).
What does that mean? It means we hold tight to the anchor of the promises of God for our salvation. We cling to the old rugged cross and our Lord's sacrifice for sin.
We trust in Jesus alone, believing what God has told us about sending Jesus to be the Savior (1 John 4:14), and that we will have eternal life through Him (John 3:16, 36; 5:24; 6:40; 10:28-30; 17:3; Romans 6:23; 1 John 5:11, 13; 2:25 ).
He is our only hope.
2. God Holds onto Us.
The song "He Will Hold Me Fast" by Ada Habershon and popularized by Keith & Kristyn Getty and Selah, best exemplifies this.
"He'll not let my soul be lost, His promises shall last.
Bought by Him at such a cost, He will hold me fast."
The song reminds us that Father God will hold onto us, His redeemed children,
- when we fear our faith will fail,
- when the tempter seems to prevail, and
- when our love grows cold.
One line especially spoke to my heart. While it is crucial that I hold onto Jesus,
"I could never keep my hold,
He must hold me fast."
My salvation is not a matter of my holding out until Jesus returns, but rather on God's eternal plan and purposes, and our Heavenly Father's commitment to hold tight onto those who have trusted in His Son.
He holds us fast when we are marked with the seal of the Holy Spirit—our Father's guarantee of redemption to the praise of His glory (Eph. 1:11-14).
Consider the wonder of Father God taking us by the hand:
- Even if others abandon us, He takes us in and holds us close (Psalm 27:10 NLT).
- As His hand holds us, He carries us along, leading and saving us (Psalm 139:10; Isaiah 46:4 ESV).
- He takes hold of our hand and holds us up with his victorious right hand (Isaiah 41:10, 13; Psalm 63:8 ESV).
- His presence is so near that He has, in fact, engraved us on the palms of His hands (Isaiah 49:16 ESV).
That last verse is such a comfort.
Can you imagine having your picture (Amplified), or your name (NLT) being carved into God's hands? The symbolism is so beautiful.
In Psalm 73, the seer (prophet) and psalmist, Asaph, testified to the close relationship he experienced with God, even though he had almost lost his footing spiritually (vs. 2), and even though he felt bitter, foolish, and arrogant (vv. 21-22).
Furthermore, Asaph proclaimed that even if his health failed him and his spirit grew weak, God was his forever! (v. 26)
That is truth for all of us who know the Lord. God's children belong to Him and He holds their hands (Psalm 73:23 NLT), even when they feel they are falling apart.
We are safe with God, no matter what happens in this life.
How wonderful to be firmly held onto by the Father, now and forever.
When I was a mom with young boys, I noticed the freedom they felt when I held their hands in dangerous situations. They felt protected. Their hearts were at ease.
That is the freedom we feel when we remember that Father God holds our hand. We experience peace because He is with us.
3. We Hold Fast Our Confession of Faith.
Hebrews 10:23 tells us to hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful (ESV).
To hold fast is to hold firmly. Confession can also be translated "profession"—what we profess.
The writer of Hebrews is saying, "Keep a firm grip on what you have professed and affirmed, that your hope, your confidence, is that God can be trusted to keep His promises."
Holding fast to our confession also means we must display our faith in God and our loyalty to Him in a public way.
God doesn't call "secret service Christians."
We are to declare verbally (Romans 10:9) what we have believed for salvation. We must be faithful witnesses.
When we consider that God is holding us firmly, something should happen in our thoughts and emotions. We should be motivated to share what God has done in us, for us, and through us.
Philippians 2:14-16a says,
Do all things without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the mist of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life . . . . (ESV).
There are two ways to look at that scripture.
First, we're to "hold fast." As we hold onto Jesus and rejoice that the Father is holding onto us, Paul says we have the responsibility to be powerful examples in our generation. And how do we do that? By "holding fast to the word of life."
We hold firmly to what we have been taught and what we know about Jesus, who is the living Christ (1 John 1:1).
But there's another application.
The Amplified version of Philippians 2:16 reads this way: holding out and offering to everyone the word of life.
In other words, we invite those around us to receive the same hope in Jesus that we have. We do that as we witness to them with our words, not only our lives.
As we live for the Lord in practical ways, and cooperate with the Holy Spirit in conforming us to Christ's likeness, others will see God operating in us—and perhaps they will be more inclined to listen to our testimony.
The Christian life is full of hope, and we have the responsibility and joy to share with others how to know Christ.
So remember:
- We hold onto Jesus.
- Greater still, God holds onto us.
- And we hold firmly to our testimony—we hold forth the word of life to others.
Which of these kinds of "holding" do you need to focus on today?
Dawn Wilson, founder and President of Heart Choices Today, is a speaker and author, 
and the creator the blog, Upgrade with Dawn. She is a contracted researcher/reviewer for women's teacher and revivalist, Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth at Revive Our Hearts, and is a regular columnist at Crosswalk.com. She and her husband Bob live in sunny Southern California, and Dawn has traveled with Him in Pacesetter Global Outreach. They have two grown, married sons, three granddaughters and a rascally maltipoo, Roscoe.
Graphic adapted, courtesy of D Mz at Pixabay.