His Victorious Righteous Hand

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I have shared this before, but it came up again, and I felt it was worth the reminder. 


If you look at my face here, I was in total freak out mode. For a moment I thought I was plunging to my death. I had forgotten I was attached to my instructor by a harness secured in a few different places. Two at the shoulders, and two at the hips.


When we initially jumped from the plane and were free falling at about 120 miles per hour through the sky, it was a little bit scary, but also quite exhilarating.


Then it happened. My instructor pulled a “string” releasing the attachment at the hips, changing our position from horizontal to vertical. For a couple of seconds, I completely freaked out, and thought… “This is it. I’m going down, and it’s not gonna be pretty.” Then I felt his hand grab my arm as if to remind me he was still there, right behind me, making sure I was safe. He didn’t need to grab my arm. The harness was secure. He did it because he knew I was scared.


Let that sink in for a second.


My skydiving experience is parallel to the trust I have in God. He puts something big in front of me… so big that I can’t even begin to see where it starts or ends. I jump, taking a leap of faith, even though all I see is nothingness. Then, just when things seem to be going smoothly, something unexpected happens, and I freak out! What has changed? He has still got my back. He is still holding on to me tightly. How could I forget so quickly?


An interesting part of this experience was how close I had to be to my instructor. It was the closest I had been (for such a long period of time) to another human being other than my husband. It was a bit uncomfortable at first, but that’s how close we had to be for me to be safe and secure.


That’s the kind of relationship God desires from us. He wants us to remain close to Him, safe in His harness of love. His proximity to us never changes, but if things go the way they should, our communication changes to a vertical position of prayer.


Many things we go through can be scary and test our belief, but we can trust He is who He says He is, and can do what He says He can do.


King David felt many of the same things we do. In Psalm 63:6-8 he said, “On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night. Because you are my help I sing in the shadow of your wings. I cling to you; your right hand upholds me.” (Look at the picture again) 


Then Isaiah 41:10 reminds us, "Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand."


That is just as powerful today, as it was the first time God revealed it to me.  I pray that you feel God’s closeness today as He upholds you with His victorious right hand.

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