Hold on Tight to Hope
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- Updated Sep 23, 2022
“Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep His promise. Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near” (Hebrews 10:23-25).
“We’ll be there,” my dad assured me.
Weeks before my father-in-law went home to be with Jesus, my dad wanted to make sure my husband, daughters, and I knew he and my mom would be there. When the time finally came, and the grieving began, an ice storm cancelled their flight.
“We decided to drive,” my dad said, which would mean a delay in their arrival because they would break up the trip from Florida to Ohio. Throughout the night, I tracked their progress and the movement of the storm front across the nation. When I rolled over at 3 AM to see where they were, my heart swelled the lump in my throat. They had driven straight through the night instead of stopping.
“I see you,” I said to my dad when they called, thinking they were going to surprise me with an earlier-than-planned arrival. Throughout the previous week, being there for my people took priority over processing my own emotions. Everyone’s messiness comes out when grief rushes in, so I went to work making sure no one was hungry, overtired, in unresolved conflicts or running low on clean laundry and time for friends – and made sure I was available when the hugs were needed.
Sad, somber moments litter our lives as seasons of mourning rush in unexpectedly. Though we know it’s a part of life, and sometimes can see it clearly coming, grief hits us like a tidal wave without warning. A rush of emotion will inevitably tear down the wall of composure we hold in place in attempt to brace for the impact of loss, pain, change, and good-byes.
The author of Hebrews is advising us to hold on tight, not just to the hope we have in Jesus – which is paramount – but also to the people God has faithfully placed in our lives. We were made to hold on tight to each other. God created us to be there for our family, friends, and communities. The more we hold tight to each other, the more we bring glory to the Lord the way He purposed us to.
Made in the image of our Father, we are a blessing to God when we hold tight to each other. Each of us have been made specifically, carefully, and lovingly. He is blessed by our genuine love and care for each other! God is purposeful. We are placed in our generations, families, communities and churches on purpose. The author of Hebrews is emphatic about finding ways to encourage, hold on to Hope, and be with each other. It’s important. It’s essential. It’s the mission of the Gospel. It’s the way we were designed to live: loving God, and loving each other.
The doorbell on our new front door alerted my phone, and my parents pulled into our new gravel driveway. The dog, who loves my dad the most, lost her ever-loving mind, adding an element of much-needed, and oh, so familiar, laughter to a heavy hello. My dad, as he has my whole life, hugged me hello, held on tight – and so did I. He has always given the best hugs. Hugs that make everything OK even though it’s not OK. Hugs that give me permission to let go and let someone else be there for me. This has always been my dad for me. And I know it’s why my trust in the Lord has been so automatic from such a young age. He is there. But he isn’t just there, he is present.
“Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works,” Hebrews 10:24 reads. Many times, the best way to motivate another soul on this earth is to show up and literally hold them tight. When we show up for each other, we give others permission to let down the façade of getting through the day, and give them the opportunity to be loved and held together by someone else. Through our obedience to hold tight, the Lord reaches out and glues us back together after we’ve fallen apart once again.
Saying goodbye to my father-in-law was hard. Though it seemed we should have been prepared as his health faltered and faded over the years, nothing could prepare us for the absence of his presence among us. During one of his last hospital stays, he requested all of his kids come to see him. We always did our best to honor him, and of course showed up. Because of COVID, we all went into the hospital one at a time, to say what we thought would surely be goodbye. He wanted us to know how proud he was of us for holding tightly to Hope. There was an apparent relief in his eyes as a result of the faith we had all placed in the Lord. He teared up when he spoke of his two grandchildren with diabetes …and he made sure he held tight to them to the very end.
Months after that visit, we were again with him for what we thought might be the last time. He looked right at my daughter, who has a Type 1 Diabetes diagnosis, and said, “But life is good.” He repeated it over and over until she acknowledged what he was saying. A few days later, she had a bad diabetes day, as we call them. “Grandpa says life is good,” she said, “but this is so hard.”
“It’s good and hard,” I told her, “it’s both.”
Hold tight to Hope. Hold tight to each other. Life is hard, but it is oh, so good, too. Let us aim to obey the author of Hebrews, “Let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near” (Hebrews 10:25). The day is drawing near. When it is, no one knows. But, “God can be trusted to keep his promise” (Hebrews 10:23b). He is holding on tight to us.
God Bless, and Glory Up.
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Photo credit: Unsplash/Hian Oliveira
