Every once in a while, social media gives you a win. Such was the case a few days ago when I was mindlessly scrolling and feeling sorry for myself.

I was just a week out from having back surgery: Basically a REDO of a failed spinal fusion in 2018 of my L4-L5 and L5-S1. Fusion had not taken place and I literally had loose screws causing pain.

Since then, my vertebrae at L3 decided to jump down and lay on top of L4 causing the utmost pain and suffering the last six months and requiring, in layman terms, a lumbar spinal fusion from L3-S1 with cages, rods, and screws, oh my! The surgery went well and everything looks great except for the horrific nerve pain I am having in my left leg. It has caused endless, sleepless nights and nothing has touched the pain, nor do they know specifically what has caused it.

So, here I had landed, wondering what was passing me by in the world when I came upon this post by a sweet friend about her six year old daughter, Haylee:

“On Sunday, Haylee wanted to be in the main sanctuary with me and said, ‘I wanna praise Jesus with you, Mom!’ Obviously I said, ‘Okay!’

And boy did she!!

I let my hands down because they were losing circulation and she grabbed my hand, shoved it back in the air and said, 

‘Mom, you need to show Jesus you want to be picked up by Him!’”

And in an instant, one sentence, one thought can change your whole perspective. And maybe even change your life.

Haylee’s mommy told me that her precious little one was recently baptized; her love for Jesus has grown with every passing day. Haylee has asked her why she raises her hands in the car, at home, at church or even outside just listening to worship music and Jessica replied that it is her way of sending Jesus hugs and receiving His hugs in return! 

“Haylee, when you want Mommy to pick you up, what do you do?”

Her little eyes dancing in wonder and awe, she slowly replies, “Ahhhh, so Jesus picks us up when we lift our hands?!” 

“Exactly!” 

“And now she can’t get enough of lifting her hands and worshiping our Savior. God continues to answer my tear-filled prayers and it brings tears of joy to my eyes to know how much He loves us!”

Wow. This is sermon material that I will not do justice to but I will keep it simple and it will encourage and bless all the same because one little girl, one innocent heart, just believes what she is told, loves what she believes and acts on it. Haylee goes on to say that when she has been scared she just says His name, “Jesus”, and the fear goes away, and in her words, “Mom, it works!”

Yes, Haylee, it works! I have prayed and prayed for relief from pain these last couple of weeks, actually months, make that years, but it rarely comes the way I want it to. Not that God hasn’t healed me before, you can read of at least one of my miracles here. Besides the burn, He completely healed me of migraines ten years ago, I have not had one since. When He does heal me, HE will receive the glory, the miracle will magnify HIM and others will be blessed, encouraged and maybe find their way to the throne!

Even though I still have pain, every time I would lift my hands, He would pick me up, reassure me He was with me, comfort me with the knowledge He had been in my shoes, with even worse pain and He would give me the strength I needed to overcome. 

His Word is His promise, His promises are true, His truth prevails time and time again! 

And maybe sometimes, just maybe, our joy in our pain, our confidence in our God, our trust that He is with us no matter what, the JOY we find in living for Him, regardless of pain and suffering, is a blessing and strength to someone else. You are always being watched, child of God, others are interested in the One you say takes all your fears away. They know you still have pain, but they also see you still praise God, you become stronger regardless of suffering and every day becomes a testimony of His goodness in so many ways.

We may not always receive the instant miracle we are seeking but when we lift our hands and ask Jesus to pick us up, with child-like faith, child sized trust, He will respond with God-sized strength!

When I first came to know Jesus, I heard our lifted hands were like a funnel, “Fill me up, God, fill me up!” I also heard it was a sign of surrender, giving everything to Him in recognition that He is all powerful and we are nothing without Him. 

All  of these are true; whatever you need for your current situation, He is that! If your predicament is physical pain, then hands in the air and call on Him, “Pick me up, Father! Here I am, Lord, hold me, strengthen me, help me.”

Many are fearful of the virus, many others are stressed about being away from those they love, then there is the intimidation and peer pressure both ways about what we should do or what we shouldn’t do this holiday season. Sometimes it is all just too much! So….hands up! Surrender those fears to Him, let Jesus carry that burden that is too big for you then let Him fill that funnel and give you the peace that passes understanding.

It doesn’t matter what your situation, God has the answer; sometimes it is just Him, sometimes that is all we need. He will show us His wisdom, His strength and impart comfort that only He can give.  He will reassure us He is with us in our pain, He has overcome and that same power that raised Jesus from the dead, lives in us! 

Raise those hands today, surrender and let God pick you up, strengthen, establish you and bless you beyond measure.

Enjoy this similar post, Holdju!