“I have held many things in my hands and lost them all. But whatever I’ve placed in God’s hands, that I still possess.” –Martin Luther (1483-1546)
Sometimes you don’t need many words to express a great truth.
When I stumbled upon this quote, it said so much more to my heart than what could be read with my eyes alone. Dreams, hopes, and visions have come and gone in one sense, but the ones I truly gave to God are not lost at all. They are being held in His strength, in His timing, and in His perfect love.
I can’t tell you how many times my mind has had fleeting questions of “Am I still in the will of God?” or “Did I miss you Father?” When I look only on the natural side, I can sometimes forget (momentarily) that God’s plans never fail.
And in reality, the words of Paul are both comforting and promising:
“But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection” (Philippians 3:7-10).
His words are comforting because we are reminded loss doesn’t have to be a negative.
His words hold promise because God always replaces what we give Him with something better.
And if there’s anything I know for sure, it’s that God is faithful.
Paul told Timothy, “If we are faithless, He remains faithful. He cannot deny Himself” (2 Timothy 2:13). You must believe this–and live by it. You and I will fail at times, but God never will. Therefore, let your dreams go… let your hopes go… Let them GO straight into God’s hands! For there, and there alone, can you be sure they are safe.
