God, never let me go: the promises of his faithful hand
“God, never let me go.” It is a short prayer, almost a cry, born in the moments when we feel everything is collapsing: when a diagnosis comes, when a family breaks apart, when money runs out, when a loved one dies or when our own strength is exhausted. It is the prayer of a child clinging to a father’s hand in a crowd. The good news is that the Bible answers that prayer with a promise repeated in many ways: God does not let go of his own. In this article we trace those promises, the examples of people held by God in the midst of the storm, and some practical ways of holding on to him when we feel we are sinking.
The promise of God’s hand
One of the tenderest images in the Bible is that of God taking his people by the hand. Through the prophet Isaiah, God spoke to a frightened people:
“Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”
Isaiah 41:10
And three verses later he added: “For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee” (Isaiah 41:13). It is not we who hold God; it is he who holds us. Our hand may be weak, but his is strong. Even when our strength fails, his hand does not tire.
“I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee”
When Moses was about to die and the people were about to enter an unknown land, he told Joshua: “the Lord, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed” (Deuteronomy 31:8). Centuries later, the author of Hebrews took that promise and applied it to all believers:
“Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.”
Hebrews 13:5-6
In the original Greek, this sentence uses a double and even triple negative, something like “I will by no means leave you, by no means, I will never ever forsake you.” It is the most emphatic way possible of saying “never”. God knew we would need to hear it loudly.
Peter: when we sink
One night, in the middle of a storm on the Sea of Galilee, the disciples saw Jesus walking on the water. Peter asked him: “Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.” Jesus said: “Come.” Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water towards Jesus. But when he saw the strong wind he was afraid, began to sink and cried out: “Lord, save me.” Then this happened:
“And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?”
Matthew 14:31
“Immediately.” Jesus did not wait for Peter to drown or give him a sermon before helping him. First he stretched out his hand and caught him; then he spoke to him about his little faith. That is how the Lord deals with us. Our faith may waver, we may look at the wind instead of looking at him, but when we cry “Lord, save me”, his hand is there. The prayer “God, never let me go” is a close relative of Peter’s prayer.
Though we fall, we will not be utterly cast down
The Bible does not promise that we will never stumble. It promises something better: that when we fall, God will hold us up. Psalm 37 says it clearly:
“The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand.”
Psalm 37:23-24
Peter denied Jesus three times, but Jesus had prayed for him that his faith would not fail (Luke 22:32), and after the resurrection he restored him. David sinned grievously, but he repented and God did not cast him away. Our failures are not stronger than God’s hand.
“Neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand”
Jesus presented himself as the Good Shepherd who knows his sheep by name and lays down his life for them. And about them he made one of the firmest promises in the gospels:
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.”
John 10:27-29
The sheep are not kept by their own strength, but because they are in the Son’s hand and in the Father’s hand: one hand within another. This promise has comforted millions of believers who feared they might be lost. If you belong to Christ, you are in the safest hands in the universe.
Nothing can separate us
The apostle Paul, who knew prisons, beatings, shipwrecks, hunger and mortal danger, wrote at the end of Romans 8 one of the most powerful declarations in all of Scripture:
“For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 8:38-39
Paul lists everything that might try to separate us from God —death, life, spiritual powers, the present, the future, height, depth— and concludes that nothing, absolutely nothing, can succeed. Not because we are strong, but because God’s love in Christ is stronger than everything.
There is no place where God is not
Sometimes we feel we have gone too far, that we have fallen into a place so dark that God cannot reach us. Psalm 139 answers that fear:
“If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.”
Psalm 139:9-10
Neither in the farthest place nor in the darkest night are we beyond the reach of God’s hand. “Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee,” says the psalmist (Psalm 139:12).
He does not forget you
When the people of Israel were in exile, they said: “The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me.” God answered with a moving image: “Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands” (Isaiah 49:15-16). Your name is engraved on God’s hands. Many Christians see in that image a foreshadowing of Jesus’ hands, marked by the nails of the cross.
Holding on to him
Psalm 73 tells the story of a man who almost lost his faith on seeing the wicked prosper while he suffered. In the end he entered God’s sanctuary and understood. His conclusion is one of the most beautiful confessions in the Bible: “Nevertheless I am continually with thee: thou hast holden me by my right hand. Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory… My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever” (Psalm 73:23-26).
How do we hold on to God’s hand in practice? Pray honestly: tell him what you feel, even in a single sentence. Read his promises: the verses in this article can be written on a card and carried with you. Remember his past faithfulness: make a list of the times God has held you. Do not walk alone: reach out to your church, a believing friend, your family. Sing: praise strengthens the heart in trials. Rest in him: sometimes holding on to God simply means ceasing to struggle and letting yourself be held.
When you cannot feel his hand
There are times when faith cannot be felt. We pray and it seems no one is listening. That does not mean God has let us go. Feelings change; God’s promises do not. “If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself” (2 Timothy 2:13). When you cannot feel God’s hand, lean on what he has said. Like a child asleep in a father’s arms, you can be held even when you do not perceive it. And if the pain overwhelms you, also seek help from people you trust or from professionals; if you are in danger, in Colombia call the emergency line 123, or your local emergency number elsewhere. You can write to us in Request prayer and we will pray for you.
The one who is able to keep you from falling
The short letter of Jude, almost at the end of the New Testament, closes with a blessing that answers the prayer “God, never let me go” directly:
“Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.”
Jude 1:24-25
God is not only able to keep us; he is able to present us one day before his glory with exceeding joy. What he began in us, he will complete (Philippians 1:6). Read also Where was God when this happened to me? and The Lord rejoices when one of his children returns.
Prayer
My God, do not let me go. I have no more elaborate prayer than that. My hands are tired of clinging and I feel myself slipping. If everything depended on my strength to hold on to you, I would already be lost. But you said that it is you who hold my right hand. That my name is graven on the palms of your hands. That no one can pluck me out of Jesus’ hand, or out of yours. Come, Holy Spirit, and cry it out within me when fear cries louder: I am yours. When I sink like Peter, let your hand reach me “immediately”. When I fall, let me not be utterly cast down. When I cannot feel you, let your promise be enough. I do not ask for the road to be easy; I ask you not to leave me alone on it. And on the day I can go no further, carry me. I love you. Never let me go. Amen.