Hold My Hand: Walking With God

• Seek First
• Stand Where Jesus Stood
• Want To's
• Working From Grace
• Faith From Beginning to End
• From It or Through It
• Mustard Seed Faith

Seek First

“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” —Matthew 6:33

What "things?"

“do not be worried about your life”
“Do not worry then, saying, What will we eat? or What will we drink? or What will we wear for clothing?”
—Matthew 6:25,31

He'll take care of everything!

"His righteousness"

"For in [the gospel] the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.” —Romans 1:17

“But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe” —Romans 3:21-22

His righteousness is not something we earn or deserve. It is a gift.

His kingdom

“Now in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” —Matthew 4:17

“From that time Jesus began to preach and say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” —Matthew 6:10

Where Jesus is, the Kingdom of Heaven is!

"Pray, then, in this way: Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.” —Matthew 6:9-10

But seek first

Jesus is talking about a habitual pattern. We seek in order to find. We are designed to desire the Kingdom of God. He is instructing us that this seeking should be first in priority.

Jesus urges us to keep the reality of the Kingdom of God and the righteousness that we inherit through Him in the forefront of our minds. This habit helps keep our daily focus on the things that align with God’s perfect will – for us and the world.

This passage of scripture has long been my favorite, go-to verse. My admittedly over-simplified interpretation of “Seek First…” is Only Jesus, all the time. I have found that to the extent that I keep my mind centered in on Jesus and His Kingdom, things tend to line up in my life.

I’m not talking about getting everything I want. No! That is not what this verse is about.

As I continue to retrain my mind to maintain focus on my Savior, the path before me becomes clearer. Choices come into sharper focus. And He cares for all my needs. After all, based on this verse, my needs are all satisfied when I walk in communion with God.

In my experience, all Satan needs to do to trip me up is turn my focus to anything other than only Jesus all the time.

Peter said to Him, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water." And He said, "Come!" And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, "Lord, save me!" Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?” —Matthew 14:28-31

As long as Peter kept his eyes fixed on Jesus, he was able to accomplish the miraculous. But as soon as he turned his attention to the wind, he began to sink.

“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

Stand Where Jesus Stood

Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father. —John 14:12

Jesus told His disciples that they would do greater works than these.
For a long time, I wondered why that was not my experience.

I thought about starting simply—speaking the words Jesus spoke, attempting the things Jesus did. But then I remembered how Jesus began.

He did not begin with action.
He began with absence.

Before the miracles, before the crowds, before the words that astonished, He entered the wilderness. Forty days. Alone. Hungry. Dependent. He began by denying Himself completely.

It seems impossible to do the works of Jesus without first learning the way of Jesus. And His way began with emptying.

To be used by God is not first a matter of effort, but of surrender. It requires laying down everything that is not God—every false strength, every illusion of control—and allowing Him to speak, act, and move through us. It requires reliance that is not partial, but whole.

Fasting is not the only way God prepares us. But it teaches something few other disciplines can: how deeply dependent we truly are.

God is constantly drawing us back to this place—where we recognize that we are held entirely by His hand, sustained by His care alone. This is where Jesus stood. And it is where He invites us to stand as well.

Not strong.
Not impressive.
But empty enough to be filled.

Want To's

“Delight yourself in the LORD; And He will give you the desires of your heart.” —Psalms 37:4

For much of my life I have read this verse with blinders on. I always thought of it as a promise that if I was a believer, God would give me everything I wanted. In a sense, God became my genie in a bottle. I saw Him as some big-box store in the sky – just waiting to hear what trinket I wanted today. Even when my prayers were not just for things; when I prayed for all the people on my prayer list; when I prayed for my personal spiritual strengthening; or when I prayed for my family. During that time, unanswered prayer for things I wanted caused serious doubt: Was it sin that was preventing me from receiving the items on my shopping list? Or maybe a lack of faith? Or could I be looking for answers in the wrong place? Or was it possible that God’s word is not as reliable as I’d hoped?

Those doubts crept in and affected every area of my faith and my view of God.

I began to doubt God’s unrelenting love. I wondered if He was paying attention at all. I reduced God to something I could understand. Something I could control. I slowly slipped into an empty place where God was little more than a concept that I constructed around what and who I thought He should be. Without meaning to, in my mind, I stripped God of His power to do what was best for me and His creation. My vision became so obscured that I could no longer clearly see that He was, always had been, and would continue to be in control of His plan for the redemption of the world.

Thank God that in time, I slowed down to see other jewels in this Psalm, like,

“Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way” —Psalms 37:7.

That was the first key. I had shifted my focus from seeking the face of my Creator to looking at the apparent prosperity of the people around me. I began to measure my worth compared to them rather than remembering my worth to Him. I let the world define what was important to me.

I paused at “Delight yourself in the LORD.” I realized that in the past, I had glazed over that phrase. Of course I delighted myself in the LORD. But had I really? When I slowed down and really considered what it means to delight myself in the LORD, I began to see how it echoes Jesus’ words in Matthew 6:33: “Seek first…”

What I needed was not more stuff or control. What I needed was proper focus. I needed to turn my eyes to Jesus and His profound love for me. Otherwise, like Peter, I would begin to sink beneath the weight of the doubts that I had allowed to slip into my spirit.

The truth is that

“… those who wait for the LORD, they will inherit the land.” —Psalms 37:9.

Waiting for the LORD has become the new focus of my life. Actively waiting, yes. But still waiting.

When I intentionally delight myself in Jesus, He slowly changes my want to’s. The change is mostly imperceptible. In fact, I’ve never sat back and pondered just what my want to’s are. But I can clearly see that His answers to my prayers land in a much deeper place than before. They are completely satisfying.

As I seek Him and His righteousness, my desires begin to mirror His. I begin to want those things that He wants. And the things that He doesn’t provide, I’ve found that I can live without, as I wait to see what He is doing.

He has promised to provide for all my needs. And He has proven faithful to that task. In the process, I find that I am receiving many good gifts that I didn’t realize I wanted.

What a satisfying way to live this has become. My prayers have been greatly simplified as I make my requests known to Him, while being satisfied — knowing that His answer to my prayers may not match my words; but they will absolutely match the desire of my heart, which is to walk with Him as closely as I possibly can.

Prayer

Lord,
Teach me to delight in You more than in what You can give.
Turn my eyes from comparison and quiet my restless wanting.
Shape my desires until they reflect Your heart.

When I ask for what I think I need, give me instead what draws me closer to You.
When I grow impatient, teach me to wait.
When I begin to sink beneath doubt, lift my eyes again to Your face.

Let my deepest desire be simple —
to walk with You,
to trust You,
and to rest in the quiet confidence that You are enough.

Amen.

Working From Grace

“Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,
for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”
—Philippians 2:12-13

There is a beautiful mystery at the heart of the Christian life. We are called to work—yet we are never left to work alone. We are called to obey—yet even our obedience is fueled by grace.

Paul reminds us that sanctification is not passive. We do not drift into holiness. We pursue it. We “work out” our salvation—not to earn it, but to express what God has already done within us.

This is our responsibility: to seek obedience, to grow in grace, and to become more like Christ. But this responsibility is never detached from God’s activity.

“For it is God who works in you…”

He is the One who stirs our desires, shapes our will, and empowers our obedience. He gives both the want to and the ability to do what pleases Him.

This is not working for grace.
This is working from grace.

Work Out, Not Work For

Paul’s language matters.

He does not say, “Work for your salvation.”
He says, “Work out.”

Like a seed planted by God, salvation must be cultivated.
We water it with prayer.
We nourish it with the Word.
We prune it with repentance.

And God gives the growth.

Our effort is real—but it is always responsive. God moves first. We follow.

Fear, Trembling, and Joy

“Fear and trembling” does not describe anxiety or dread.
It describes reverence.

It is the awareness that God is at work in us—shaping our lives for His purposes. That reality should sober us, humble us, and fill us with awe. This is not casual work. It is holy work.

And remarkably, it brings God joy.

For His Good Pleasure

Why do we pursue obedience?

Not for applause.
Not for approval.
Not to prove anything.

We do it because God delights in seeing His grace take shape in our lives. When we walk in step with Him, our obedience becomes evidence of His work—and that brings pleasure to His heart.

Prayer

Father, thank You for working in me. Thank You for giving me both the desire and the strength to follow You. Help me to take my walk with You seriously—to pursue holiness with reverence and joy. Let my life reflect Your grace at work in me, and may everything I do bring pleasure to Your heart.
Amen.

Faith From Beginning to End

Key Scripture

“For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith.’” —Romans 1:17

Have you ever felt the weight of trying to be “good enough”?
The relentless striving. The constant measuring. The quiet fear that you never quite measure up.

The gospel cuts through that burden with a liberating truth: the righteousness of God is not something we achieve—it is something He reveals and credits to our account. A divine deposit given to the undeserving.

That has always been the pattern.

Genesis tells us that Abraham believed God, "and it was credited to him as righteousness" (Genesis 15:6). Romans echoes the same truth: this righteousness is “by faith from first to last.”

There is nothing we can do—no effort, no discipline, no moral performance—to earn it. At salvation, we bring only one thing to the table: faith. We stop striving and start trusting in what God has already done.

But faith is not only the doorway into life with God.

Faith is the way we walk forward as well.

We walk by faith.
We grow by faith.
We are conformed to the image of Christ by faith.

Our transformation does not come from self-effort, but from an ongoing, responsive faith—one that listens, obeys, and rests in the work of the Holy Spirit. As we open ourselves to God through His Word, prayer, and daily dependence, He does the reshaping from the inside out.

And here is the humbling, freeing truth beneath it all: even faith itself is a gift. We do not manufacture it; the Spirit supplies it. From beginning to end, God is the source.

So release the burden of earning.
Receive the gift you were never meant to pay for.

We live righteous lives not for salvation, but from salvation—by faith, all the way through.

Prayer

Lord, thank You that faith begins with You and continues by You.
Teach me to live from Your righteousness, not toward it.
Keep me grounded not in performance, but in trust—
and let my life be shaped by wonder, not striving.
Amen.

From It or Through It

“…our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king.
But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”
—Daniel 3:17–18

Imagine the scene: three teenagers—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—standing before King Nebuchadnezzar, the most powerful man in the known world. Their crime was refusing to bow before his golden statue. Facing certain, agonizing death in a superheated furnace, their response was not a plea for mercy, but a declaration of faith.

Their surrender was not to the flame, but to the sovereignty of God.

“Our God is able to deliver us,” they proclaimed. But then came the defining words: “But even if He does not…”

This was not a lack of faith; it was the purest expression of it. They trusted God completely—without demanding a specific outcome. In essence, they were saying, “God will save us—either from the fire, or through the fire.”

Enraged, the king ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter and had them thrown in. But they were not alone.

Daniel records a fourth man walking with them—one “like a son of the gods.” Many see in this a divine presence, possibly even a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ. However we understand it, the message is unmistakable: God entered the fire with them.

When they emerged, the evidence was undeniable:

“…the fire had no effect on the bodies of these men nor was the hair of their head singed, nor were their trousers damaged, nor had the smell of fire even come upon them.”_ —Daniel 3:27

Yet something was burned away—the ropes that bound them.

The fire meant to destroy them became the means of their freedom. What the enemy intended for harm, God used for release. They came out untouched, unscorched, and unbound.

God has not changed.

He still uses suffering not to consume us, but to refine us. And notice this: Jesus did not wait outside the fire for them to emerge. He walked in it with them. He is found in the deepest waters, the darkest valleys, and the fiercest trials of our lives.

Scripture echoes this truth:

“If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.” —1 Corinthians 3:15 “Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.” —Isaiah 48:10

If you are in the fire today—pressed by grief, fear, loss, or uncertainty—hear these promises:

“The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” —Psalm 34:18 “And now, Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in You.” —Psalm 39:7

We can face any trial with confidence—not because we control the outcome, but because we know the Companion. God may deliver us from the fire, or He may walk with us through it. Either way, He is faithful. The fire refines, releases, and frees—consuming only what binds us.

Prayer

Lord, teach us to trust You not only in deliverance, but also in delay.
When the flames rise and the path grows dark, remind us that You are not absent—you are near.
Your presence is our greatest promise. Amen.

Mustard Seed Faith

“…I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move…” —Matthew 17:20

I used to think that verse was good news—if I ever needed to move a mountain.

But then I began to notice the kind of faith so many displayed when Jesus walked among them. It wasn’t flashy or loud. It was persistent, expectant, and deeply rooted:

• The woman with the issue of blood (Luke 8:43)
• The lame man at the Pool of Bethesda (John 5:1)
• The paralytic lowered through the roof (Mark 2:3)
• The groom at Cana (John 2:1)
• The grieving mother in Nain (Luke 7:11)
• The man with a withered hand (Mark 3:1)

And then—perhaps most remarkably—the miracle of multiplication in Matthew 14:15–33. Five loaves. Two fish. Twenty thousand hungry people. And twelve disciples who had no idea that today, they’d be part of the miracle.

Jesus blessed the bread, broke it, and handed a piece to the first disciple. Yet somehow, both the disciple and Jesus were holding full loaves. The miracle continued—disciple by disciple, recipient by recipient.

Not only did they see the miracle.
They took part in it.

Then, as if to seal the moment, Jesus had each disciple collect a basket overflowing with leftovers—tangible evidence of faith meeting divine abundance.

Faith in the Storm

But just hours later, fear returned.

In the boat, the disciples trembled as Jesus walked toward them on the water. Peter dared to believe—mustard seed faith—and for a moment, he walked on the waves. But doubt crept in when he focused more on the wind than the Savior.

When Peter began to sink, Jesus caught him immediately.

“... O you of little faith ...” —Matthew 14:31 It's easy to fault Peter for his doubt. But don't lose sight of what Peter did - he walked on water! With"little faith! Jesus' words weren’t a rebuke. They were a reminder:

Even little faith is powerful when pointed toward Me.

Prayer

Lord, help us not despise the days of small faith. Thank You for catching us when we sink. Remind us that mustard seed faith is more than enough in Your hands. Teach us to fix our eyes on You—through storms and through wonder—and trust that You will never let us fall.
Amen.