A mighty grip

When I was younger, I had a strong, firm grip. I did not have issues holding on to things. I could grab a wrench and bear down on it with all my might; the wrench would not slip out of my hand.

While working in the oil field as a pump mechanic a few years ago, I encountered something that changed my grip forever. I was called to service a pump at a plant. I arrived and drained the pump, but the lines were empty. As I opened the pump, a green liquid came pouring out. It got all over my hands, my tools, everything. I kept on working. As a person who wears glasses, I had to keep touching my face and pushing my glasses back up. It was hot outside, and I was sweating a lot.

After just a few minutes, I felt a burning sensation. I came to find out that that green liquid was caustic soup. I ripped off my cloth gloves and watched as the skin on my hands was being eaten away. I have never hurt so bad as I did that day and the next few days, to be honest. Since then, my grip has not been so good. I developed arthritis because of it and so lost much of my grip. We need to be able to grip things; it is how we work and do most things. We cannot do much without a solid grip on our hands.

Why do I share this story with you? I share it because of a verse in the Bible. John 10:29 says, “My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all. No one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.”

Anyone with a toddler knows that when they have something in their hands that you don’t want them to have, it is not easy to get them to let it go. You see, God's Father has you firmly in his hand. What does this mean? It means when you are His, you are His. There is nothing anyone can do to take you out of his hands. He is the one who created this universe and everything in it. So, there is nothing that can overpower him. The Devil, this world, the people in this world, nothing, and no one can remove you from God’s hand.

Thi s ver se in John reminds me also of Romans 8:38-39, which many know. It says, “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.”

There is not one thing or one person that can take God’s love away from you. They cannot take you out of His hand. So, no matter what you may encounter, no matter how bad people talk about you, stop following you, unfriend you, or ghost you, no matter what, their actions or lack of actions can never remove God’s love from you. Those actions will not release you from God’s hand. They cannot take away your salvation, your hope, your eternity. Jesus tells us this, and Paul, to encourage you. No matter what you go through, God still has you.