Safe in the hands of God
Hands are marvelous things.
This morning, I remembered a football player acquaintance who has had a career in both the CFL and NFL. He had hands the size of hams. I wear a size large glove, but my hand was dwarfed when we shook hands. The championship rings on his fingers seemed nearly as big around as my watch dial.
A friend of mine worked the oil rigs in his youth. He is missing the ends of two fingers on one of his hands. Several cowboy friends are missing the ends of their thumbs from getting caught in their ropes.
I have had the pleasure of shaking the hands of many hard-working people. Callused and rough from a lifetime of hard work, they exuded strength. A carpenter I know has several flattened fingertips from hitting the wrong nail. His hands are as strong as iron and as gentle as a kitten.
Hands are strong but can be quite gentle and tender. They enable us to do things that would otherwise be impossible. They enable us to touch one another.
Hands can bring healing, or they can bring hurt. A gentle hand can convey tenderness and compassion. An angry, upraised hand can bring bruises. An open hand can signify friendship or a gesture of surrender. They can be uplifted in worship or clasped in prayer.
As I thought about hands, I pondered the hands of God, both the literal fleshly hands of Jesus and His metaphorical “hands.”
The power in those “hands” is incredible. He could crush the world out of existence if He so desired. Yet his “hands” are gentle enough to create the minutest of details in the universe. His hands touch the lives of even the most insignificant individuals and circumstances.
Jesus allowed his human hands (and feet) to be pierced with large, rough Roman nails to pay the penalty for our sin. Although He could have stopped it all in an instant if He chose to, even though He could have poured out wrath and judgement on his tormentors, He chose to stay his hand and act out of mercy.
God knows the smallest of details about us. He knows more about us than we know ourselves, both the good and the bad. He chooses to place His infinitely powerful hand upon us.
His hands created us, they sustain us, and our very breath is provided by His hand.
His hands protect us. Those hands judge the world and its inhabitants, and offer mercy and salvation.
There are no better hands to hold us and protect us,
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:6-7 ESV
I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” John 10:28-30 ESV
Being held in the hand of God is no guarantee against earthly calamity. We live in a fallen, broken world inhabited by sinners. However, it is a guarantee that He won’t waste our suffering and that our destiny is sure in Him.
Until next time, rejoice in the shelter and safety of God’s hands.
Kevin
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