Hold On for the Ride

Posted on April 20, 2024 by

31 Comments

Life can leave us feeling exhausted. We have ups and downs, which make us feel like we are on a roller coaster. Moment to moment. Day to day. Month to month.

I’ve recently been thinking about how when stress hits, our default is to fight in our own strength. We know we should cling to God and His strength, but doing that is not necessarily our instinct.

Even when life is stressful, we can make a decision to choose peace. We can make up our minds to keep peace in our hearts. We can hold onto truth and the promises of God. We know that He is with us and fighting for us, but we don’t always live like we believe it.

Last weekend when I was reading in Proverbs 3, these verses struck a chord:

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. 7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and depart from evil. 8 It will be health to your flesh, And strength to your bones.

The words in verses 5-6 we might recognize, while the words in verses 7-8 might not be as familiar.

These words resonated with what was on my mind. Although these verses are talking more about seeking God’s will, wisdom, and discernment, I believe the same is true for seeking God’s strength. Look at those words in verses 7 and 8. Fear of the Lord is health to our flesh and strength to our bones. When we are feeling tired from life’s trials, the Lord will sustain us.

But we have to choose that path. The title of this post is “Hold On for the Ride.” But the question is, what are we holding on to? Are we holding on to mighty God and His all-powerful strength? Or are we holding on to our own limited, human strength? We get to choose. And it’s a daily choice. Every morning we need to remind ourselves to cling to Him.

We can choose to activate our faith. We can choose to believe. We can choose to trust Jesus with whatever comes our way.

“Your life on earth is the only time you’ll get to exercise your faith because one day, your faith will become sight. Now is the time to cultivate a faith that blesses God’s heart. Today is the day to trust Him.” – Susie Larson

I started working in this post last Saturday, but I didn’t have time to finish it and publish it that same day. Then on Sunday, I read another blog post Sunday Reflections by Maxine at Heavensreef. I love the reminder she shared on choosing God and His strength.

It seems that much of our Christian walk necessitates reminders. We need to remind ourselves of truth. We need to remind ourselves to seek the Lord’s strength, instead of our own. We need to remind ourselves to turn to the Holy Spirit for discernment. Therefore, this is something I am trying to keep in mind each moment of each day.

Sometimes (if I remember ! 🤔) I will even picture Jesus right there beside me. And even better, I picture myself holding on to His arm. That visual hits home and helps me to do a better job of seeking His strength, no matter what I am facing.

Prayer: Lord, how grateful we are that You are always with us. You never leave us, no matter what we are going through. Sometimes when difficulties hit, we try to fight them in our own strength. Please help us to remember to seek You and Your strength. We know that You are our strength, but we don’t always live like we believe it. Help us to activate our faith. Help us to trust You, every moment of every day. Thank You so much for Your faithfulness and love. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen 🙏

Thank you for reading, I hope you have a blessed weekend!

Photo credit: Chris Curry on unsplash.com

© 2018-2024 Bridget A. Thomas. All rights reserved.

Category: Seeking GodTags: , ,

31 Comments on “Hold On for the Ride”

  1. What an excellent and very pertinent post Bridget! In fact it resonates well with Bruce’s post today. Thank you for sharing this today sister, may our Father God continue to guide and bless you today 🙏

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  2. Our (my) default response is often to do something, rather than to trust God.
    As I read your excellent scripture-based post (they always are!) I heard Jesus saying in John 14:

    “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.”
    And then later in the same chapter:
    “ Peace I live with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
    Trusting in God brings the purest possible peace, by straightening our paths and literally bringing heavenly health.—Proverbs 3:5-6 AND 7-8.🤗
    Amen, sister! You sent me deeper into God’s Word this morning; there’s no greater compliment, sister! Thank you and God Bless.

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    • Thank you for the kind words. And thank you for including those verses from John 14. The peace that Jesus offers us is such a precious gift. But we have to accept the gift He offers us. As you said, we often default to doing something, rather than placing our trust in Him. I’m so thankful He doesn’t give up on us, but continually tries to lead us down the best path. Thank you and God bless you too!

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  3. Thanks Bridget for the encouragement to hold on. Jesus is right there with us as we go through our ups and downs. And as you said, we do have a choice daily to choose to trust in Him. He is faithful and has promised to supply our needs. I like the picture you used. It reminded me to not let go of what the cross represents, and the promises that Jesus has made to us through it. My favorite hymn is “At the Cross.” Have a blessed weekend. 💕

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    • I’m so glad this was encouraging, Dawn. I’m in awe to think about how the Lord is always with us. What a gift we have in Jesus! But sometimes life’s circumstances do blindside us, so we have to be intentional about making that choice. Every day. I’m so glad you like the picture! I was trying to find a picture that represented us holding onto the Lord. “At the Cross” is a beautiful hymn! I think I will go listen to that now! 😁✝️💜 I hope you have a blessed weekend too!

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  4. Thank you for this encouraging reminder!
    The intentional discipline of turning to God instead of inward is something I need to grow in. Life’s a work in progress and thankful for His grace through it all because every man, every day falls short. Never give up and keep holding on. Thanks, Bridget 🤗 Hope you have a great rest of your weekend!

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    • I agree with you 💯 %! I’m so thankful the Lord doesn’t give up on us. Each day we have fresh opportunities to put our trust in Him. May we keep clinging to Him. Every day! Thank you, Summer, for sharing your thoughts. And I hope you have a wonderful weekend too! 🤍

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  5. An article I read – the details like the author and what magazine elude me – the author said that the most important word is Remember. We need to remember who we are, whose we are, and what our purpose is as found in God’s word.

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  6. Love this post. Found it very encouraging and I needed this reminder. Trying in our own strength- I know that feeling very well. Even though I proclaim that we have to depend on God and trust Him, I falter and as you wrote, I have to be very intentional in choosing God.
    God bless you my friend 💙💐

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    • Manu, I’m glad this was encouraging. I needed this reminder too. I think it’s our human nature to default to our own strength. But then we wind up exhausted and stressed. I’m so thankful that Jesus offers us a different path. I pray we can be more intentional about choosing Him and His peace, every day. God bless you too, my friend! 💕🤗🦋

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  7. Thanks for this timely reminder on resting in God’s strength and power rather than relying on our own. I did a devo at work on this Proverb several months ago. I’m glad your post brought it back to my mind today. Blessings!

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    • Oh how awesome! I’m sure your devo was encouraging! I’m so grateful for the Lord. He is always there for us. I pray we remember to hold onto Him and His strength daily. Thank you, Rainer. Blessings to you too!

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  8. Awesome post!!! Wishing you blessings on this Monday morning. God is always there for us…As you have written so beautifully, we must reach out and take the hand He offers to us each day. When we fret over our cares, we do waste time and energy. When we share our cares with God, He brings us peace. In that way, we can find clarity in the midst of turmoil. We discover solutions we could never find on our own.

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  9. We do need the reminder that He is for us and with us and will guide us!! My oldest daughter is graduating this year and I keep having people comment about how stressful it probably is and what a busy time, and to be honest, I haven’t felt that way yet…..then I realized it’s because I’m procrastinating!!! If I continue to disregard my responsibilities for planning my daughters graduation reception I’m going to regret it and end up an impatient mess the closer it gets, as a result I’ll be stressed and frustrated and won’t encourage myself to relax and trust God with ALL the details.
    Your post is a great reminder to get myself together while there’s still time instead of continuing to put it off, and avoid stressing myself out!!!

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