For many people I know, one of the most challenging things growing up is when their family moves to a new community, and they change schools. They say goodbye to every friend they have ever made and are forced to start fresh in a new location.
We all want to be accepted, but very few relationships we ever experience show us an unconditional acceptance that we can count on. That isn’t how the world operates. I learned very early in life that many people accept you right up to the point when you stop giving or doing something for them. But thankfully, that’s not how God works. His acceptance of you and me is not linked to what we can give Him or do for Him. Instead, His acceptance of us is forever tied to what He did on our behalf and what He gave us through His Son, Jesus Christ.
There is a funny-sounding Hebrew word that expresses this idea: Yadiyad. You will note that it is two words joined together. The word yad means hand, so the entire word is translated as “hand in hand.” Many ancient cultures believed that one’s heart was in the palm of his hand. So, when you joined hands with someone, you were sharing your heart. Where did the handshake come in? It doesn’t mean much today, but back then, it was a sign of a commitment of friendship, sharing your heart with one another.
We can, and should be, God’s servant. But God is doing more than giving us orders or assignments; He is reaching out to us with His hand, His Yad. But He needs another hand to complete the word Yadiyad.
I have heard a lot of people on various podcasts lately saying that young men are becoming emasculated because they live through a screen. They don’t take risks, they don’t leave home, and they definitely don’t ask girls out on dates. The remedy, apparently, is they need to be taught how to handle rejection.
Learning to handle rejection is an important life skill. But there’s an easy way and a hard way to know it.
The hard way is to let life knock you down again and again until you either harden up or die trying. That way teaches rejection until you learn how to reject others, even if it is only to protect yourself.
The easier way is to lean into your Father’s acceptance. Take His hand. If you know who is for you, it won’t matter who is against you.
“Never again will you be called ‘The Forsaken City’ or ‘The Desolate Land.’ Your new name will be ‘The City of God’s Delight’ and ‘The Bride of God,’ for the LORD delights in you and will claim you as his bride.”
Isaiah 62:4 NLT
There are very few relationships we ever experience that show us an unconditional acceptance that we can count on, but there is one. Walking hand in hand with you is what God wants. Yadiyad.
Please pray for: African Radio Ministry, as they continue to reach believers, new villages, and new prisons with the gospel of Christ in both West and East Africa.
Please Thank God for: Ongoing leadership across the congregation.
Please Thank God for: Our current shut-ins — Leela, Joyce, and Grace.
Please continue to pray for: all those who have sustained injury or property damage because of the rain and the flooding.
Please Thank God for: Pastor Jeff Carlson who underwent surgery because of cancer.
Please pray for: Jim and Norma Wiest. Norma has been diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis.
Please pray for: Bob Zellmer, as his treatments get adjusted.
Please pray for: Geri, who has terminal cancer and needs a new round of chemo.
Please Thank God for: Returning guests at our congregation here in Miramar.
Please pray for: Joey, who is recovering from surgery.
Please pray for: Robert, who has been diagnosed with sinus cancer
Please Pray for: Joyce Brosch and her ongoing therapy.
Please Pray for: Geri Nay, who is struggling with chemo and heart problems.
Please Pray for: Kristi, who is undergoing treatment
Please Pray for: Kathy Duitsman, who has breast cancer.
Please Thank God for: All those who lift us up in prayer.
Please Pray for: Leela Izzo, that God would strengthen and heal her.
Please pray for: Jarrett who is recovering from a dramatic brain injury and his mother, Heather, who is caring for him.
Please pray for: Those who have suffered the loss of a loved one, including Bob Beastrom
Please Pray for: Those who struggle with housing needs.
Please pray for: all those who are out of work.