Day 25: Get a Grip

For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38–39

When I was twelve or thirteen years old, my stepfather traded in his bass boat for a ski boat and decided to teach my sister, brother, and me how to slice across the surface of water on narrow boards at 30–40 miles an hour. One would think a feat like that would take a long time to master, but we learned to water ski pretty well in just one weekend because Dad Angel insisted that we learn in his favorite liquid hangout, the St. John’s River. Which is a really gorgeous Floridian waterway, if you don’t mind all the alligators!

Of course, he told us not to worry about all the floating “logs” that morphed into bumpy-backed monsters with big teeth, which we noticed with growing horror as we motored to the gator-infested stretch of river he decided was the perfect spot for beginner skiers. He went on to casually employ the same phrase I’ll bet cavemen used to coax their kids outside when there was a T-Rex in their yard, too, “Now y’all don’t worry. They’re more afraid of you than you are of them.” Yeah right. And real grizzlies are friendly toilet paper connoisseurs just like the cartoon ones in the Charmin commercials.

Needless to say, after Dad Angel gently shoved our floppy orange-vest-wearing selves over the side of the boat into the brackish brown water of the St. John’s, we hung onto the ski rope as if our very lives depended on not letting go. Even after accidentally losing a ski when I careened across the wake, I refused to let go of the handle and gulped gallons of that nasty water while being dragged like a rag doll behind the boat. Because I knew if I did let go, there was a good chance I’d become gator kibble. And I’ve never been a big fan of being chewed on.

All of which brings me to an important spiritual point the pastor of Hebrews emphasized in triplicate to his congregation:

But Christ was faithful as a Son over his household. And we are that household if we hold on to our confidence and the hope in which we boast. (Heb. 3:6, emphasis mine)

For we have become participants in Christ if we hold firmly until the end the reality that we had at the start. (Heb. 3:14, emphasis mine)

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens—Jesus the Son of God—let us hold fast to our confession. (Heb. 4:14, emphasis mine)

Then he upped the ante in chapter 10 by adding the clause without wavering:

Let us hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering, since he who promised is faithful. (Heb. 10:23, emphasis mine)

In other words, don’t just hold on, but hold onto to your faith in Jesus Christ and Don’t. Let. Go. No. Matter. What. The really bad news of the Bible is that the devil is a dragon (Rev. 12), another aggressive carnivore with big teeth—basically the alligator’s scriptural cousin. But the infinitely better news is that our hope isn’t in the strength of our grip, it’s in the supernaturally strong grasp of our God! Yes, we need to hold on to our faith for dear life, but never forget that God is holding on to us infinitely tighter! He’s not letting go of us. Nothing can separate you from the love He has wrapped around you. So mimic Him, and hold on, friend!

• What or who has the power to make you loosen your grip on the Gospel?
• How does knowing there’s an “enemy in the water” help you hold firmly to your faith?
• How can you remind yourself throughout the day that God is holding on to you?