Hold it all together
Everybody needs you strong
But life hits you out of nowhere
And barely leaves you holding on

And when you're tired of fighting
Chained by your control
There's freedom in surrender
Lay it down and let it go

So when you're on your knees and answers seem so far away
You're not alone, stop holding on and just be held
Your world's not falling apart, it's falling into place
I'm on the throne, stop holding on and just be held
Just be held, just be held

If you've ever been to a Christian church service or listened to a Christian radio station, you've probably heard "Just Be Held" by The Casting Crowns. It's a beautiful song that captures the beauty and redemption of God's help and saving graces.

In today's society, there's so much pressure to be independent and to figure everything out on our own. How many times do we turn on the radio and there's a song about being a strong woman and not relying on a man, or being a successful man through your own efforts and without help. Independence is glorified, and there is a social stigma about asking for help. We're taught to figure out life on our own, roll with the punches on our own and pick ourselves up by our bootstraps on our own. And if we ask for help, it's a sign of weakness. We, as a society, have become brainwashed in the idea that we must do everything by ourselves and figure out everything out on our own, because if we ask for help or rely on someone else, we're not strong enough, we're not brave enough, we're not smart enough and the list goes on and on.

The problem is, no man was created to be an island. As cliché as that phrase is, it's true. God did not design us to be independent and to have everything figured out. Rather, He gave each one of use unique gifts that we are called to share with the world and help each other. In order to survive and to thrive in this life, we need each other and most importantly, we need God.

All too often, life gives us more than we seem to be able to handle on our own. We either bite off more than we can chew, we get the short end of the stick or we simply get down on our luck. Life can throw us some mean curve balls. And when we're faced with those hardships, we're supposed to hold it all together and find a way to figure it out on our own. We fight and fight and fight and try the best we can to be the glue that holds our life together.

But we fail. Try as we might, we can't do everything on our own, and we can't fix everything on our own.

That's where God comes in.

When life gets too rough and seems to be out of our control, all we have to do is turn to God's grace, and His love will carry us through any hardship. When we feel as though we're at the end of our rope and we can't hold on any longer, God is there to catch us and save us. God has been there all along ready and eager to carry us through life, but we feel as though we can handle everything on our own. God's love and His saving power will never fail us, especially in times when it feels as though the weight of the world is on our shoulders. All we need to do is stop holding on to the idea that we can do everything on our own, and just be held by God's love, guidance, and mercy.