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Listen while you read: "Praise ye the Triune God"1
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Psalm 23:4 – Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. (ESV)
As the little sister of four, I had plenty of opportunities to be left in the care of one of my older sisters or my older brother, Glen, while my parents were working or gone to some school or church event.
One of Glen's jobs was to pick me up from pre-school. He normally did so in whatever vehicle was available at the house. Normally, it was one of the trucks that Dad had for his business or the MG convertibles that they were restoring or my mom's car.
There was one vehicle, though, that was never used … until one day.
Glen had a motorcycle. It was a fascinating piece of machinery to me, being 14 years his junior. I loved watching him ride it and always begged for a chance to ride it or at least to sit on it. But Mom was very cautious.
One day, Glen decided to take a chance. He picked me up on his motorcycle. I am quite sure that the teacher gave us a frown as he put me behind him with a helmet on. His instructions were to hold on tightly: "Grab the back of my shirt."
I did so, and we made it home without any trouble. I had faith in my brother's abilities as a driver.
Having faith in God is like that. In New Testament times, there was a sickly woman with a blood disorder who had tried everything to get better, but nothing had worked.
Matthew 9:20-22 – And suddenly, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years came from behind and touched the hem of His garment. For she said to herself, "If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well." But Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said, "Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well." And the woman was made well from that hour. (NKJV)
The woman knew that if she could just touch Jesus' hem, she would be made well. Her faith was so strong, and she was made well. In today's verse, David expresses his faith — a belief that God was with him while he went through troubled times.
No matter what challenges that we face in life, we can grab on to God, for He will get us through it all. Just hold on to "the back of His shirt" or "the hem of His garment".
Prayer: Dear Lord, thank You for being a faithful God Who loves us unconditionally. Father, strengthen our faith in You through a desire to dive into Your Word daily, as it is our playbook for life. Amen.
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About the author:
Becky Holland <rlhga@icloud.com>
Empire, Georgia, USA
Send your feedback to the author
Amen.
Thanks for the good word, Becky.
We touch God through prayer and faith in action.
I LOVE your prayer – AND the ‘hold onto the back of my shirt’ picture. Thank you.
I loved your devotional, thank you. I was the youngest of four. Keep writing please.
(Ontario)
Becky, I loved your devotional title Grab the Back of my Shirt and also your motorcycle ride illustration. Your devotional today is a wonderful reminder for us that God is always there to help us, and He will see us through, and a great reminder also of how sweet and necessary it is to be in the Word of God daily. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you, Becky, for your devotional today. You have written a great comparison of the phrase, “grab on to my shirt” and the words we read in the Bible, “touch the hem of His garment.” Your brother did a very caring routine of getting you home from school and our loving Lord does an ongoing daily care of us, for which we need be very thankful. Blessings for your special writings.
Good morning, Becky,
I loved the title of your devotional and really wondered where you were going with this message. You definitely had lots of vehicles at your home, and it sounds like many good experiences.
It is very important to grab on to God in many different ways to build a close relationship with Him as He desires us to. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and grabbing our attention with your title and fun story. Blessings.
Good morning, Becky,
I am smiling! Your message today brought back long ago memories to me. I needed a ride home and a friend came along and offered me a ride home after I had been waiting forever for the bus. Without hesitation I clumsily got onto the back of his intimidating motorcycle. Once on, he said hold on tight. I did! I was eight months pregnant!
You trusted your brother and I trusted my friend.
Thanks for the memories!
Thanks, Becky, for connecting the “hanging on” analogy to our trust and faith with our Lord. It’s a good reminder.
(Ontario, Canada)
Great example for your message, Becky. May we have that faith!
Thank you for sharing this encouraging devotional with us. Blessings.