Hold…
What does ‘hold’ mean? In thinking about every day life and the way that we commonly use this word, there seems to be a lot of different contexts that we can use it in. It can mean to hold something near and dear to your heart, it can be that you grasp something or support something with your arms or hands, you can embrace and hold someone in a hug, you can hold or maintain a certain speed while driving your car. It can also mean to hold something in possession, hold someones attention, or in the active or passive sense to hold something together, continue with out changing, or adhere to something. It can refer to a container that holds something or the act of preventing something or someone from moving forward, and we can hold a meeting or a conversation. It can be a verb or a noun in some cases. There are so many ways by which we can apply this word.
Today, I want to talk to you about 3 ways to use this word in conjunction with 3 other words that God specifically drew to my attention.
In prayer this morning, I asked the Lord, “what is something you would want me to share with my readers today?” I believe God had this for me today and that I needed to share it with all of you. I heard in my spirit these 3 things:
Hold Fast
Hold Strong
Hold On
For more clarity I prayerfully looked up verses in the bible pertaining to the usage of these phrases. I believe this is the message that God wanted to communicate to me and through me today.
Hold Fast
:To continue and keep believing strongly in or adhere to an idea or principle.
Hebrews 4:14 says, “Since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.” (ESV)
What is our confession? That Jesus is Lord and Savior of our life, that He understands what it means to be human and go through the trials and temptations of life and that in coming to the throne of grace, we can receive all that we need from the Father to help us in any time of need.
In the original Greek, some other ways of translating this phrase ‘hold fast’ was to: hold firm, take hold, and lay hands on. This denotes not only a preserving of something but also it is active as in upholding a tradition or a way of doing something. It is not passive but requires strength and intentionality.
In 2 Thessalonians 2:15 it reads, “with all these things in mind, dear brothers and sisters, stand firm and keep a strong grip on the teaching we passed on to you both in person and by letter.”
God’s word should be alive and active in everything we do and say. We need to uphold the Truth of God’s word as prominent in our lives for every moment. Persecution for believing in the one true God and the redemptive power through Christ has persisted since the time of Jesus’ birth, but God says that we should endure despite the slander, the ridicule and the injustice. Jesus tells us several times in the gospels that we will be hated by all for His name’s sake. But we are also blessed beyond measure and can rejoice because we are saved and sealed in God and heaven bound. (Matthew 5:10-12, Matthew 10:22, Mark 13:13 and 2 Tim. 3:12). Point is, it is worth it in the end to suffer for the sake of Christ! There may be times when you feel like the whole world is against you, but be encouraged through the word of God and stay strong in Him.
Hold Strong
:To firmly remain in the same position.
How do we hold strong? As an often misunderstood and persecuted Christian, how can we hold fast to our confession of Christ and remain strong and unmovable? Just like a soldier holds his post and waits for the next command we need to do the same. However, we aren’t without protection. Our strength comes from God Himself. Some of which we can put on in the form of spiritual armor that will guard us through difficult times. I would say that right now feels like the most difficult time that I have ever had to hold strong. 2020 has been marked by so many seemingly negative things. The Coronavirus pandemic and the political divisiveness wrapped around this coming election to say the least. We are hard pressed on every side.
In the book of Ephesians chapter 6 and in verse 10 it reads, “A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all the strategies of the devil.” It goes on to talk about their being a spiritual battle going on behind the scenes. Often times when you are dealing with the nastiness of some individuals, you in fact may be encountering some of the attacks of the enemy (satan). That helps us put things into perspective. The devil knows his time is short and he will stop at nothing to deceive us and try to take us out. If he can’t get you to leave your faith by way of sin then he will try to at least shut you up so that you can’t influence anyone else for God. Mainly by attempting to steal your identity as a son or daughter of the most High. He wants you ineffectual for God’s kingdom by whatever means necessary. This is where we need to hold strong.
When we learn about the Armor of God we need to know that there is more to it than a Sunday school song or child’s puppet show. This armor is powerful and deserves our attention. I won’t go into a whole lot of detail, but it would be good for us to do an expository study on the Armor of God. You have: the Belt of Truth, the Breastplate of Righteousness, the Shoes of Peace, a Shield of Faith, Helmet of Salvation and lastly the Sword of the Spirit. One thing I want to mention is that the bible says we put on every piece of it and that it is for the purposes of resisting the enemy in times of evil. The armor of God then enables us to stand firm. Or hold strong. We have to put it on. It’s not automatic. It is our responsibility. Also, the armor is to resist. Ultimately the actual battle belongs to the Lord. Anything that we can do, it’s only because of His strength in and through us. 2 Chronicles 20:15 says …"the battle is not yours but God’s.” We are no match for Satan, but we can resist him and the bible promises he WILL flee. (James 4:7) We do this not in our own might, but with the Armor of God.
Hold On
:To wait for something or someone. Endure or keep going in difficult circumstances.
In Thessalonians chapter 5 the apostle Paul is prophesying about the return of Christ. In the first part of the chapter he tells us that Jesus’ return will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night. For the unbeliever it won’t be so good at that time, but for God’s people we aren’t in the dark about this. We know He’s coming back and we can eagerly wait and expect it. While we are eager and expectant though, we need to hold on. Hold on to what? 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22 says, “Hold on to what is good. Stay away from every kind of evil.” In previous verses it lists these “to do’s”:
Encourage each other and build each other up.
Honor and show great respect to those who are our leaders in the Lord’s work and work hard among us and give us spiritual guidance.
Live peacefully with one another.
Warn those who are lazy or unruly, encourage those who are timid or afraid, and take care of those who are weak.
Be patient with everyone.
Don’t pay back evil for evil but try to do good to each other and all people.
Always be joyful (filled with joy comes from the Lord and being in His presence, which is different than happiness in our circumstances).
Never stop praying.
Be thankful in all circumstances.
Do not stifle or restrain the Holy Spirit.
Do not scoff at prophecies or inhibit them in the church but instead test them and hold on to what is good. (Discerning their origin and checking their agreement with the word of God. Hold on to them if they are good and genuine.)
Stay away from every kind of evil.
I don’t know about you, but I definitely see some areas for improvement here. Lately I look at the state of affairs in this country and wonder, where has honor and respect gone? Where is there thankfulness and peace? It’s hard to see right now. But, honestly it starts with us; the church. I pray that God gives the collective church His wisdom and an outpouring of His spirit in these times.
So, we hold on to the word of God. We hold on to what we know to do and put them in to practice on every level. With other believers and non. We need to be the salt and light in the earth. Philippians 3:16 says, “But we must hold on to the progress we have already made.” None of us are perfect, but I thank God every day I am in the process of ‘being perfected’ in Christ. This won’t come to full completion until the Lord’s return or until we pass on to the other side of eternity, but we need to hold on to keeping our conduct in line with our spiritual understanding. We must endeavor to live as the apostle Paul instructs us in the word of God. We must be a light to those around us, especially in dark times. Which I believe we are in. In Revelations 2:25 John encourages us that we must ‘hold on tightly to what we have until Jesus’ return.’ We are waiting for our final redemption and “we need to live today as if Jesus is returning tomorrow.” -Martin Luther
This song just came into mind as I was writing this. “Don’t let your heart be troubled, hold your head up high, don’t fear no evil, fix your eyes on this one truth. God is madly in love with you. So take courage hold on, be strong and remember where our help comes from!” —Good Grace by Hillsong United. You may know it. If you don’t, I encourage you to search and listen to it. There is some good wisdom in this worship song.
This is just what I needed. I don’t know about you? But, I hope it is uplifting. I got out this morning on a walk to enjoy nature and take some time to pray uninterrupted. Things may seem bleak, but our hope is not found in this world but rather in God who is doing great things in the earth and in each of us. Hold fast, hold strong and hold on!
Hugs and love to you.
~Amy
