The harvest mouse is the smallest European rodent. An adult can weigh as little as four grams! Its rather broad feet are perfect for climbing, with a large outermost toe, allowing it to grip stems with each hind foot as well as its tail (thus freeing the mouse’s forepaws to collect food). In short, the harvest mouse was created to cling.
Do you find yourself wondering how much longer you can “hold on”? You may have been denied something as trivial as a parking space, or as significant as a well-deserved promotion. We have all experienced the various stages of desperation: clinging to sanity or self-control; grasping at relationships or gasping for air. So we do our best to take that deep breath, steel our resolve, and face the daunting once again.
When we find it difficult to “hold on,” perhaps we are holding on to the wrong thing.
In Deuteronomy 13:4, Moses gave this exhortation to the Israelites: “It is the Lord your God you must follow, and Him you must revere. Keep His commands and obey Him; serve Him and hold fast to Him.”
Ah, there’s the key! We must hold fast to GOD. Like the harvest mouse, we have also been created to hold on. God has well-equipped us to cling to Him.
“Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to His voice, and hold fast to Him. For the Lord is your life…” (Deut 30:19b-20a)