HOLDING FAST: Secure through the storms of life
(2-2025 by Carol Scheitlin)
It’s often through our most difficult times in life, times when we feel that we can’t move forward, that God will show Himself strong for us – if we look to Him and hold fast to HIM.
This is Carol Scheitlin of New Life Expressions. This month I’d like to speak about the idea of “holding fast”, enduring, not giving up in a world that can be turbulent, unstable, and challenging. Persevering through is not as difficult as you might think.
Let’s talk about it...
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO “HOLD FAST”?
By definition, to hold fast means to “cling to”, “be tightly secured, fixed firmly”. It can also mean “continuing to believe” and “to resist separation”. There are various Scriptures in the Bible with the phrase “hold fast”, where we are exhorted to keep trusting, and to not lose heart.
One of the great things about our wonderful God is that when He tells us to do something, He also provides what is needed to do it. When we read verses about holding fast, we may think that it’s something we have to muster up in our own strength.
Instead, the essence of “holding fast” is more a matter of trust, not in ourselves and our own abilities, but in the strength and the power of God. God provides what we need. He provides Himself.
Let’s take a look at a few verses encouraging us to hold fast:
In Joshua 22:5 we are told to “love the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, to keep His commandments, to hold fast to Him, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul.”
“Let your heart hold fast my words; keep my commandments and live.” (Proverbs 4:4) ... 20 “My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings.
21 Let them not escape from your sight;
keep them within your heart.
22 For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh.
23 Keep your heart with all vigilance,
for from it flow the springs of life.”
The apostle Paul in the book of 1 Corinthians tells us the importance of believing the Gospel of salvation: “Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:1–2).
And in this verse in Hebrews we see the importance of being fixed and firm in the faith, and in the hope that Messiah provides. ”Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, 21 and having a High Priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.” (Hebrews 10:19-23)
We are to HOLD FAST in our secure relationship with our righteous and loving GOD. Hold fast in the relationship with our Savior Jesus, Who loved us so much that He gave Himself for us. He died on the cross to fully pay the penalty for all our sins. We can believe this - and hold fast to HIM.
HOLDING FAST IN DESPERATE TIMES:
How do you hold fast when confronted with extremely difficult circumstances? If you’re feeling heavily weighed down by the cares of life, you may identify with Psalm 107. It covers a number of desperate scenarios, yet also provides hope. It powerfully emphasizes that through each crisis, God is available to meet the need.
I encourage you to read through Psalm 107. Here are just a few summary points to show God’s awesome power and provision in times of doubt and stress.
Some keys to “HOLDING FAST” from Psalm 107:
He’s your Provision in times of famine: “Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them. 6 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, And He delivered them out of their distresses……. 8 Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness,
And for His wonderful works to the children of men!
9 For He satisfies the longing soul,
And fills the hungry soul with goodness.”
He gives victory over death and darkness: 10 “Those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, Bound in affliction and irons—…. 12b They fell down, and there was none to help. 13 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
And He saved them out of their distresses.
14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death,
And broke their chains in pieces.”
15 Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men!
16 For He has broken the gates of bronze,
And cut the bars of iron in two. …. 19 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
And He saved them out of their distresses.
20 He sent His word and healed them,
And delivered them from their destructions.”
He can calm all storms, and give peace to the soul: Those who go down to the sea in ships, who do business on great waters, 24 They see the works of the Lord, And His wonders in the deep. 25 For He commands and raises the stormy wind,
Which lifts up the waves of the sea. 26 They mount up to the heavens,
They go down again to the depths; Their soul melts because of trouble.
27 They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man,
And are at their wits’ end.
28 Then they cry out to the Lord in their trouble,
And He brings them out of their distresses.
29 He calms the storm,
So that its waves are still.
30 Then they are glad because they are quiet;
So He guides them to their desired haven.
What a beautiful picture of God working miraculously to guide through the storm to the desired haven of peace and calm. Each time in Psalm 107 when those in distress ‘cried out to the Lord’, God delivered them out of their desperate situation.
And in the spiritual sense, holding fast is realizing our own insufficiency to work the miraculous. Only God can do the miracles and wonders that we are helpless to do. In His grace, in our desperate moments, He draws us to Himself, so that we can look to Him, cry out to Him. We can trust that He will help us, as He promises in so many Scriptures throughout the Bible. And we can trust Him to meet our soul's deepest need.
HOLDING FAST TO THE SAVIOR:
In the New Testament, we see Jesus calming a storm, and showing His power to the fearful disciples who were being tossed by turbulent waves in the middle of the sea of Galilee. Here’s the account:
“And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.” 28 And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.
29 So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. 30 But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!
31 And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.” (Matthew 14:26-32)
Jesus miraculously came to the rescue of Peter, who was sinking into the depths of the raging waves.
Peter said just three words, “Lord, save me!” and Jesus lifted Peter out of the depths of the turbulent waters.
Do you feel like you’re sinking or overwhelmed by turbulent circumstances? Jesus can take firm hold of your hand, when you cry out to Him. Jesus can lift you up out of the depths of the circumstances you may feel are devouring you.
You can hold fast to Jesus, taking firm hold of HIS POWERFUL HAND, trusting Him to bring you to the place of safety – a haven of peace and calm.
Holding fast is having full confidence in Jesus to do what only HE can do.
• It’s trusting Jesus to save you when you cry out to Him.
• It’s seeing beyond your feelings, and taking hold of the truth of GOD’s Word.
• It’s replacing doubt with faith in HIM.
• It’s resisting the temptation of the devil who tells you to quit, deny your faith, compromise Biblical truth and take a destructive path.
• Holding fast is persevering through - not in our strength, but in the strength of our all-powerful God and Savior Messiah Jesus.
• It’s holding fast to the Hope we have in our Messiah, the Savior of our souls.
Being saved doesn’t mean that our life will be without storms and trials. We live in a fallen world which has its ups and downs. There will be seasons of joy and peace, but there are also times of challenges, persecution and opposition.
What being saved does mean, is that we have a Savior, the Lord Jesus Who we can trust to carry us through!
We have a relationship with the God of all creation Who rules over the winds and the waves. He can say to the raging waters “BE STILL”, and they are calm.
By seeing the faithfulness of God, time and time again – His provision in times of famine, His victory over death and darkness, His ability to calm our storms, we gain endurance and perseverance. We see His sovereignty, and our faith in HIM grows stronger.
God provides His saving grace, most importantly, for the salvation of our souls. He meets the desperate and deepest need of our souls --- Jesus provides Himself, to save us from the destructive ravages of sin.
Jesus is our answer, our secure strength, our place of safety, the Way, the TRUTH, the LIFE.
The trials we face now are temporary. We experience various seasons. But through all things, we know we have the Savior, encouraging us in all TRUTH.
We can hold fast to Jesus, our Salvation, secure in the truth of God's Word. He is able to meet our greatest of needs.
“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope
without wavering,
FOR HE WHO PROMISED IS FAITHFUL.”
(Hebrews 10:23)
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Want to know more about a relationship with God?
If your identity is not found in Jesus - If you don’t know Jesus, you can know Him! A few quick things to help you get started:
• Pick up the Holy Bible and start reading! (The Gospel of John in the New Testament is a great place to start!).
• Click HERE to find out about God’s FREE Gift of Salvation.
• Get connected to a solid church where the Bible is taught. Book by book, verse by verse teaching, is a great way to gain rich understanding!
• Turn from darkness and the bondage of sin, and trust Messiah Jesus to give you life and make you NEW in Him!
Carol Scheitlin is director of New Life Expressions, writer, author, and blogger. She has served short term on various outreach missions around the world, long term in engineering and manufacturing businesses, and for many years directed a worldwide outreach. She loves encouraging people to see Messiah Jesus throughout the Scriptures – and to know God’s awesome, perfect and sacrificial love. Only through HIM can we know this deep love, and have real hope, victory - and New Life!
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