Held Together

By Stacy Sanchez, Arise Daily

He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.  Colossians 1:17 NIV

Do you ever feel like the world is unraveling?

I’m sure every generation has felt this. There have always been wars and bloody battlefields because, well, people and their love of power. Tragedies and “acts of God” have broken spirits and tried faith. Protests have risen to fight injustice. Political strife beckoned fear. The poor and marginalized have appalled sensibilities—if anyone dared pay attention.

Add our personal storms—diagnoses, broken relationships, financial pressure—and it’s no wonder we want to duck and cover. No matter how tightly we try to hold things together, everything seems to slip through our fingers like water.

Jesus said He left His peace with us—but some days, it’s hard to find. There’s just so much to deal with. All. The. Time.

We live in an age of constant information. Unlike generations before us, we don’t just carry our own burdens—we’re flooded with the weight of the entire world. Pain that used to feel distant now shows up in high definition with the click of a mouse, demanding our attention, feeding our fears, and stretching our souls thin. Even if it’s not happening to us, it feels like it is.

Through gritted teeth we cry out, “God, where are You?”

This question isn’t unique to us. It’s one that has echoed through history: from Adam to Jesus. The early church wondered too. They faced many of the things we do today. Paul’s letter to the Colossians offered them the same eternal truth we need now: “He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”

Let that sink in.

Before any war.Before any tragedy.Before the divorce, the diagnosis, the loss—Christ was.

You weren’t created to carry the weight of the world. That job belongs to Jesus. In Him, all things are still being held together. Not just the stars in the sky and the waves in the oceans. You. Your life. Your tears. Your heartaches.

Yes, we wrestle with the question, “If He holds it all together, why doesn’t He stop the suffering?”

Suffering is never God’s goal—it’s a symptom of a broken world. Until Christ returns life is just going to be hard—sometimes, very hard.

But Jesus doesn’t just sympathize—He sustains. He climbs into the chaos with us.

Before Peter could walk on water, he had to let go of the boat. Sometimes, peace doesn’t come from understanding. It comes from surrender.

What are you clinging to that keeps you from Jesus?

Deuteronomy 33:27 says, “The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.”

When you feel helpless, you are held.

When your soul is overwhelmed, cling to this: in Christ, all things hold together.

We are in the strong, steady, nail-scarred hands of Jesus.

No tear goes unnoticed.

No prayer goes unheard.

No moment goes unsupported by the One who holds you.

When life is out of your hands, place it in His. There is no safer place to be.

Prayer: Jesus, I’m tired of trying to hold it all together. Thank You that I don’t have to. You hold all things—including me. When life feels like it’s falling apart, help me trust You. Help me surrender what I can’t control. Help me rest in Your peace. Amen.

This devotion, reprinted from Arise Daily, is brought to you by the Advanced Writers and Speakers Association (AWSA).

Join the Conversation: When you find yourself trying to hold it all together, are you energized or fatigued?