Cling to Me

Cling To ME

by Rocky Fleming

   

“For as the loincloth clings to the waist of a man, so I made the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah cling to me, declares the Lord, that they might be for me a people, a name, a praise, and a glory, but they would not listen.”  (Jeremiah 13:11 ESV)

  As I read this verse this morning, I did so after a woman shared with me her current challenge with a cancer diagnosis.  She had read my book, Compelled by Grace, and was struck with the joy and freedom she found with the chapter, “The Secret that Abandonment and Trust Forge Courage.”  She shared that she had found comfort in God’s presence and provision and that she has been invited to a deeper trust in Him.  She found the comfort she longed for. Memories of my own challenging time with cancer back in 1997 reminded me that I too found comfort in this fact that: God is sovereign over my life and for those whom I love.  He loves me and has a plan for me and my loved ones.  Therefore, I will abandon my fears to Jesus and trust Him absolutely with this cancer and my life from this point on. Do these words and strategy for life sound familiar?  If you have read any of my books, and if you have gone through The Journey, then they should, for the words and thoughts were forged in the fire of my persevering times where I had to cling to my King and Comforter. If we will look at the passage above, we will see that God wanted Israel and Judah to cling to Him.  We know that Judah is in the family tree of Jesus, and as Christians we are in the family of God through Jesus.  Therefore, this admonition to cling to God is relevant for Christians today.  The admonition to cling to God would have led to a path of great joy and purpose for Israel and Judah if they had obeyed.  He was offering them a position to be His people, to have a name as His people, to be a living praise and glory to Him, if they would only cling to Him.  But they did not cling to Him, and as a result they missed the blessing. What does cling mean biblically?  You might want to consider that Jesus said the same thing to His disciples when He said, “You must abide in Me.”  This also means, “Remain in Me.”  As I thought further on what it means to cling to the Lord, I visualized a drowning victim clinging to the side of a boat until his or her rescuer could pull them into the safety of the boat.  They hold on for dear life.  Then I thought of the temporary life we are in until our redemption into heaven is complete and we are finally safe, and that we must hold on and cling to our Rescuer until that time.  Our world is a raging ocean that pulls victims into it every minute.  There is only one hope for its victims, which is to be rescued by the Rescuer of Souls … Jesus Christ.  He rescues us, but not just for ourselves.  He wants us to reach back to help others. As I reach to Him and cling to Him, I feel His powerful grip on me.  He will never let me go back into the abyss from which He saved me.  I am eternally secure.  But I also hear Him say to me, “Now reach back and help others come to Me and cling to Me.  There is no better voice than he who has fought the angry waves and storms in his life with Me at his side and has found in Me salvation to help rescue others who are victims of this world.” How can I not reach back?  How can I deny even one person an opportunity to find Jesus as I’ve found Him?  Jesus told His disciples to abide (cling) to Him and He would abide (cling) to them.  He holds us in His grip, and He will never let a son or daughter be lost again.  He also told His disciples (us) to go (proactively) and make disciples.  We are to show them how to cling to Him and repeat the process with showing them how to reach back to the victims of this world.  Can there be a clearer message, or mandate, or charge from our King?  Can we in any way deny that this is His objective for followers of Christ? Let’s talk about courage to do this reaching back.  I’m sure that there is a fear of rejection or misunderstanding that may haunt some of you?  Maybe it is because you might be making it more complicated than it should be?  Maybe you feel you are being asked to be the savior and rescuer of people, and you feel unqualified as such?  If you think this, you would be right.  We are neither of those aspects of Christ.  He is that alone.  But we are messengers of this truth given to our life, and that is all we do.  That is what He asks us to share.  We share how He has rescued us, and we let the response be the response by the drowning victim.  If they realize the hopeless state they are in, then they will want His rescue.  It is the work of the Holy Spirit to speak to this need and compel them to His grace.  We are only His messengers. Abandonment of our fears and trusting Him absolutely forges courage.  It has been that way since humble fishermen had to face the brightest and most successful religious leaders who had no idea what they missed when Jesus stood before them.  Those humble disciples who knew Jesus had the power and courage to use it.  They had been with Jesus.  They had been rescued by Him.  They were still clinging to Him.  They were now reaching back by obeying their Savior and Lord, and His continued presence in their life made them courageous and persuasive. I want to be part of a team like that and join with a chorus of courageous voices who reach back to help others.  I’ve been rescued.  This team has been rescued.  We know what and where we came from.  We have memories of it.  We can still see that place and state of life in others who don’t know Christ as He has shown Himself to us.  We hear our Savior’s voice, “Reach back to them so they can be rescued and cling to me along with you.  REACH BACK.” Will you join Influencers in this rescue operation?