Hold fast

I came across this verse that stated, “If you are slack in the day of distress, your strength is limited.” (Proverbs 24:10 NSRV). Webster’s 1828 dictionary has one definition of slack as “weak” or “not holding fast”. This happens to many of us when we encounter trouble of any kind. Our world is full of things that want to steal our peace of mind and cause us to focus on things that are not encouraging. Many times the things that distract us are not necessarily bad things. I get distracted with work. I enjoy my job and want to do well. Doing well in my job makes me feel successful. That success is limited to what happens in my job on a daily basis. I can’t control everything that happens in my job. Therefore, I have days where I feel limited because something unexpected interrupted my day. Those are the days I have to force myself to stop looking at the immediate and focus more on the big picture. I don’t abandon the processes that have helped me be successful in the past. I “hold fast” to the practices where I have experienced success in the past.

The same holds true for our lives as a whole. We can’t allow ourselves to abandon the truths of God’s word when the “day of distress” comes. His words don’t change. Verse 16 later in the same chapter says, “A righteous man falls seven times, and rises again…”. That is the truth that doesn’t change regardless of our circumstances. You can survive your day of distress, but why not hold fast to God’s word and thrive through the day of distress!