Child of God, are you ready to hold fast to your Father? Today begins a new year when we need to do just that! This year, there will be changes for which we’re not ready. We will have to face hardships and trials. We will bury some of our loved ones. Our finances may tank. So many hard things ahead. Yet, we know there will be many times of celebration and joy. Children born, sweet visits with relatives, kind words spoken, making new friends, cultivating our relationship with old friends will bring us joy this year.

 Now is when I say to you, BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE!

“Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name. When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.” Psalm 91:14-16

Here at the beginning of 2026, let’s begin to practice holding fast to our Father God. When you are taking a child across a street, you hold his hand very tightly. There’s a reason for this. You don’t want him to step in front of a moving car and get hit. This is holding fast because you know your hold on him produces the outcome of stepping on the curb on the other side of the street with him safe. God knows our lives and what is in store for us in the coming year. We need to hold fast to him as we go through each day. Now, let’s think of how to hold fast to our Father.

Nothing new here:

1. Pray daily. We are building our relationship with God by talking with him. It goes beyond bless this or that. We should be grateful each day for our salvation and for who God is.
2. Read his word. This is how we get to know God and Jesus. The whole of scripture points us to Jesus. This is where we will find comfort and direction.
3. Practice the word. We will be more like Jesus as we practice what is being taught to us in the word. This is part of holding fast because at times, we can’t practice without holding onto God. He is to be our motivation.

How do we need to hold fast? In love. To love God is to have a personal attachment to him and that comes through the sacrifice of Jesus. When we are a child of God, we should practice and experience a deep affection for our Father. Remember, “we love because he first loved us” (1 John 5:18). The example of love is found in the sacrifices made for us by the Father, Son, and Spirit. He is the example and when we really grasp this, our affection will grow.

In Psalm 91:14-16, we find the results of holding fast!

1. Deliverance. He has delivered us from the bondage of sin by the blood of Jesus Christ. Sin no longer has the hold on us that it did before.
2. Protection. Does this mean we will never be sick? No! Does this mean that no one will hurt us? No! Does this mean the snowstorm will go around our house? No! What is means is we will be protected from the Evil One. We know the name of our Father and we can stand on his name against the schemes of the Devil.
3. Answer. God will answer when we call on him. This doesn’t mean he will answer in our way. He answers in his way.
4. Present. God will be present with us at all times. Therefore, we can count on him in times of trouble. He walks through the trials and hardships of this life.
5. Rescue. How does God rescue? He doesn’t always change our circumstances but He always gives a way to live in them. His rescue comes in the form of his way, his presence. “…but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” 1 Corinthians 10:13b
6. Honor. As a child of God, we have the honor of being a sibling of Jesus. We are co-heirs with him in the kingdom of God. Jesus said in John 12:26b, “If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.”
7. Eternal life. Because of salvation through Jesus’ sacrifice, we have eternal life with our Father. We must hold fast to the one who has saved us and prepared a home for us in eternity.

It’s so true that we don’t know what tomorrow holds but we do know who holds tomorrow. So, we can hold fast to him in the ups and downs of this life in 2026. Are you ready for another year trusting the one who loves you more than anyone else? Let’s begin to build our muscles so we can hold fast, not letting go of our Father and arriving safely home!