Hebrews 10:23 talks about holding on, encouraging us to trust and believe what we have learned in the past. It says, “We must hold on to God’s promise that we have said we believed. And we must never let go. He has promised and he will do it.”
I don’t know how you interpret this idea, but it strikes me that we often feel like we are holding on…holding on to our beliefs, holding on to our principles, holding on to those we love for dear life. We are holding on because chaos makes us feel like we are losing our footing, unable to find a safe place to be. We may often find ourselves feeling like our lives are “on hold.” We wonder if God is still paying attention or if He knows the mess we are struggling to manage. How do we keep holding on, when we’ve been on hold for a long time already? Now that’s a good question.
I can’t help thinking about the Old Testament story of Moses and the people who were waiting for him to come down from the mountain. Moses was up on Mt. Sinai for forty days and nights and while he was there, God was talking to him about the future. In fact, God was giving Moses the Ten Commandments so the people would understand what God wanted from them. While all that was going on, the Israelites were getting tired of waiting. They were patient for a few days, but as time went by they started wondering if Moses was even going to return. They started doubting everything they had already learned from the God who led them through the desert by a pillar of fire at night and a cloud to make them more comfortable through the day. They forgot what they already knew. They decided they needed to take matters into their own hands. What did they do? They complained to Aaron. They said, “We’re tired of being on hold. We’ve been waiting here now for days. We just can’t hold on anymore.”
So, what did Aaron do? He said, “I get it. Bring your gold and we’ll make a new god for ourselves.” They did it and they started singing and dancing because they were no longer on hold. Why? Because they gave up their first love and stopped holding on to their Creator. It’s tempting for us to do the same. We look out at the world and wonder how we can manage, how we can hold on to our hope and our possibilities. We wonder if there are other options, other ways to hold on. Often, we end up holding on to things that do not serve us well.
It’s not easy to hold on, but it’s easier if you think carefully about the One you’re holding on to. It’s easier if you remind yourself that God is still there. He has not gone away. He is still working on ways to help you understand what He wants from you. He’s still sending people into your life to help you move forward.
Let us trust and believe what we have learned. Let us remember all that God has done to get us through the deserts of life. Let us hold on to God’s promise.
In fact, let’s hold on to one another in joy and love.