"Hold me up--and I will be safe!" Psalm 119:117Every true believer knows the danger of . . . their own deceitful heart, their tendency to wander, the pull of the flesh, and the constant assaults of the world. Were it not for God's restraining grace, we would surely fall into flagrant sin. That is why the psalmist pleads, "Hold me up--and I will be safe!"It is one thing to be saved by grace, but another to be kept by grace. Just as a child walking along a dangerous path needs the firm grip of his father's hand, so too do we need the steadying grasp of God's upholding grace to keep us from stumbling. We are prone to pride, self-reliance, and every other sin--but God, in His mercy, restrains us from going where our sinful nature would lead.Consider Peter--how easily he fell when he boasted, "Even if everyone falls away, I will not!" (Mark 14:29). And left to himself, he denied his Savior three times. But when Jesus prayed for him (Luke 22:32), his faith did not ultimately fail. This is God's gracious, omnipotent, upholding hand--preventing His redeemed people from utterly falling away.How often have we been spared from sin, not because of our own wisdom and strength, but because the Lord upheld us? Perhaps we were tempted by a sin that would have ruined us, but were providentially hindered by God's restraining grace. Christian! We continually need God's upholding grace, as we have a heart that is able to commit every sin that was ever committed in Heaven, Earth or Hell! (Jeremiah 17:9)Paul reminds us, "So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall!" (1 Corinthians 10:12). True safety lies not in our resolve, but in God's upholding po