Who's Holding Whom?
I have entirely fallen in love with a television show. This is not your typical program. It is clean, heart-warming, and brings honor to the Lord in its message. I’m not saying it’s perfect, but it’s pretty close. Anyway, it’s called Signed, Sealed, and Delivered and is about a team of misfits who work for the Dead Letter Office department of the Post Office. Their job is to deliver mail items that were mangled or damaged in the mail, making the address unreadable or the package itself undeliverable. The program begins with a movie, then there are about ten hour-long episodes, and then there are several movies and more in the works. They are truly worth the time to watch. Trust me! (But a small warning for those of you like me who are very tender-hearted—Keep the tissues handy!!!)
As we watched through the Christmas movie, one particular exchange of words resonated deep within me, and I haven’t been able to forget it. The conversation comes back to my mind nearly every day, and I smile as peace and reassurance warm my heart.
The main character, Oliver, was helping a former teacher decorate for a Christmas party. As they discussed years gone by, Oliver spoke of a difficult Christmas where he had lost his grandfather. As a young child, the mourning of the family frightened him, so he left the house and wandered down to the beach, where he found a man decorating a twisted, little tree sprouting up from a rock. When the man noticed Oliver’s distress, he invited him to help decorate the tree.
“Funny,” Oliver said to the older lady with whom he was reminiscing. “I think about that tree from time to time. Just out there... Alone in the wind. Holding on to that rock, just... Trying to survive.”
At that moment, the wise woman spoke up, “Or maybe the rock was holding on to it.”
Did you get glory bumps? I do every time this scene replays in my mind. Oh, my friend, I’m so glad that my Rock is holding onto me. I’m not alone. I don’t have to try to survive through my own strength or willpower. My connection to Jesus isn’t dependent on my grip but His. Oh, glory, hallelujah!
I can’t tell you how many times in this life I’ve felt like that twisted, little tree. Out there. All alone. Just holding on. Trying to survive. But the fact is, since I’ve met Jesus and accepted Him as my Lord and Savior, I’ve never been like that tree. I may have felt that way, but in those moments, I had forgotten the very thing that Oliver had failed to realize—The Rock is holding me! And He’ll never let go. No matter how rough the storm or how long the trial. He has promised that nothing can pluck me from His hand.
I am safe. I am secure. I am loved. And if you know the Lord as your Savior, you are too. I don’t know about you, but this truth makes me want to praise Him all the more.
“For who is God save the LORD? or who is a rock save our God?”
“The LORD liveth; and blessed be my rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted.”
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.”