I've lost count of how many times I've had the following conversation as a pastor.
"I just wonder if I don't have enough faith."
"I just feel like I'm so inconsistent in my walk with God."
"I just worry that these hardships are a result of what I'm not doing well."
It's so frustrating to me how often we get fixated on the amount of our faith, which we often feel is lacking. Many of us feel ashamed of the state of our discipleship, which often seems inconsistent at best. We fixate on what’s missing rather than the enduring character and promises of God. While we serve a God who has promised to finish His work in us (Philippians 1:6) and never leave us alone (Matthew 28:20), we worry that our humanity will lead to being abandoned.
We wonder, “Is God punishing me? Is God disappointed in me? Will God walk away from me?”
Each of those questions puts the focus on us rather than keeping it on God. When I'm asked whether the amount of someone's faith will impact whether God comes through for them, I often share one of my favorite quotes from Timothy Keller, where the late pastor and author reflected on Matthew 17:20: "It is not the size of your faith that matters, but the object of your faith that actually saves you."
The object of our faith is a God who doesn't let go!
This truth is a consistent pattern in the music of Jon Reddick. The passionate worship leader has spent his career writing songs that help people find their way back to that truth. From "God, Turn It Around" to "No Fear," Reddick has a gift for meeting people in the middle of their struggle and pointing them upward. His newest song, "Holding On (Praise God)," does exactly that. Reddick described the song this way: "This song is a reminder to lay down the burdens you were never meant to carry and trust the One who has been holding you all along. My prayer is that it points you back to where your strength and help truly come from."
The chorus peaks with this lyric: “I'm holding unto God, 'cause I know my God is holding unto me.”
This is much more than a lyric, though. This is a mountain of a statement, the kind that can ground you amid frustration and anxiety.
King David knew the significance of this truth. In Psalm 121:1-2, he wrote, "I look up to the mountains — does my help come from there? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth!" Rather than looking inward at the state of his own faith, David paused to look up and marvel at the character of his God. His eyes weren’t on his circumstances, but on the God who was bigger than them!
God echoes the same thing through the prophet Isaiah: "Don't be afraid, for I am with you. Don't be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand" (Isaiah 41:10, NLT). The posture in this passage is not “I need to hold on tight enough.” Isaiah announces, “God will hold you up.” Those words enable us to take a deep breath and invite us into peace.
Finally, the Apostle Paul writes to persecuted believers with the confidence of someone who has experienced God’s presence in storms. "Nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:39, NLT).
Pause and make this personal. Not your inconsistency. Not your doubt. Not your failure to pray enough, read enough, or do enough. Nothing can separate you from God’s love.
The line that I kept thinking about from “Holding On (Praise God)” was this one: “I'm finally letting go / Giving it all to the one who's in control.”
To a world that is obsessed with control, surrender sounds like losing. But surrender to God is actually the moment the fight gets easier. When you surrender, you stop fighting against God for control over your own life and start trusting that He is committed to your good and loves you more than you can fully comprehend. When you let go, you're not falling. You're landing in the arms of someone far stronger.
If you are feeling exhausted, inconsistent, full of doubt, or running on empty, I encourage you to pause right now. Close your eyes. Take a deep breath in and then let it go.
Let this truth sink into your soul, and listen to Jon Reddick sing it if you need a reminder later. God isn't holding on to you based on how tightly you're holding on to Him. His grip doesn't depend on yours.
He's been holding you all along.
Scott Savage is a pastor, author, and speaker who loves tacos, matcha, and sneakers. Scott's writing has impacted over eight million readers through trusted platforms such as the YouVersion Bible App, Air1 Radio, and Our Daily Bread. Whether speaking on a stage or writing on a page, he offers a steady, empathetic voice that reassures people they are seen, loved, and not beyond God's healing reach. He’s the author of Faith Behind The Song, a new devotional book published by K-Love Books. Subscribers from over fifty countries are excited to read his free newsletter every Tuesday morning. You can join that list today at ScottSavageLive.com.
