Hand in Hand

 "Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand." Psalm 73:23

    When my girls were little, I loved walking along holding their little hand in mine. It was an act of protection, as in a crowded parking lot or by a busy crossing, but it was also an embrace that fit like a glove. One day came when they were too big for this but I miss it, just as I miss them sitting on my lap or reading a book with me. 

    I relish being a child in God's eyes, one who needs guidance and protection. When I walk side-by-side with my Savior, He grasps my right hand, the Scripture says. Why not my left hand, I wondered? Traditionally, the right hand symbolizes authority so, if His left hand is curled around my right one, then His right hand is free to come to my defense! 

    There are two more verses I've found to treasure:

• "For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, 'Do not fear for I will help you.'" Isaiah 41:13
• "I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken." Psalm 16:8

    Until He comes again on the clouds of glory with all the saints and angels, Jesus is at the right hand of God the Father interceding for us. When I approach life's perilous crossings and molasses swamps, it gives me great comfort to imagine looking up at His smiling, confident face, knowing He leads me to safety.

"If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast." Psalm 139: 9, 10