God's Hands and Ours
During the year 2022 I have felt an urgent call to be ‘Useful for Jesus’, and I have had various opportunities to be of service, within a church group and beyond - not least in the Sheffield West Filling Station. And that led to some thought on the subject of Hands.
Read Psalm 31:1-16
One beautiful Sunday morning a pastor announced to his congregation, ‘My good people, I have here in my hands three sermons: a £1000 sermon that lasts five minutes, a £500 sermon that lasts fifteen minutes, and a £100 sermon that lasts a full hour. Now we’ll take the offering and see which one I deliver. It’s in your hands.’
The Psalmist says, ‘My times are in your hands.’ (Psalm 31:15). ‘I trust in you, O Lord. You are my God. My times are in your hands. (vv 14-15). This story says ‘Your times are in your hands’ - and actually there’s a bit of truth in both. We are free to choose the good, or the best - or the worst.
There are lots of Bible references to the Hand of God e.g. Ezra 7:28 Because the hand of the Lord my God was on me, I took courage and gathered leading men from Israel to go up with me.’ That’s an encouragement !!
On the other hand, there are serious warnings, e.g. Isaiah 9:17 Everyone is ungodly and wicked, every mouth speaks vileness. For all this, his anger is not turned away, his hand is still upraised. Or Hebrews 10:31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
So we learn: stay on the right side of God ! Then we can know him as a refuge (Psalm 31:1, 4), a rescuer (31:2), and a rock (31:2, 3).
The old hymn reminds us that the hands of Jesus draw us to himself: From sinking sands he lifted me, with tender hands he lifted me,
From shades of night to plains of light, O praise his name, He lifted me!
What about our hands? Read Psalm 24:1-6
1) Holy hands are an essential starting point for being ‘Useful for Jesus’
Verses 3-4 make this very clear. ‘Who may ascend the hill of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart.’
I read about a group of people praying and using these verses as they prayed. Suddenly the leader said, ‘Friends, we need to take this seriously. We need to be honest before the Lord.’ As they poured out their confession to God, the Holy Spirit came powerfully into the room - and the Hebridean Revival swept through the islands.
2) Jesus’ story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-35) is one example of many to illustrate the principle of Helping Hands.
If you think about the people who worship with you each week, you will be aware of the many ways in which they use their hands to help : playing in a worship group, maintaining a church website, operating a computer for church accounts, serving tea and coffee after a service, putting out the song books and putting them away . . . and so on. Meetings of the Filling Station require the commitment of people to do the practical things before, during and after the meeting.
A friend of mine is in charge of a department of students in higher education. Recently an overseas student came to him to ask for help: her accommodation cost £450 per month, her total grant was £500 per month - so she had just £50 per month for living costs. My friend contacted his church: a family will take her in AND she she will hear about Jesus.
It’s valuable to ask: am I a consumer or a contributor?
3) The following Bible passages draw attention to Healing Hands.
Mark 8:22-25, Luke 9:1-2, Luke 10:1, 9, Mark 16:15+, Acts 3:6-7
Just as Jesus was ready to touch people who needed healing, even those with leprosy, so he commissions his followers to do the same.
You may like to investigate this further via some of the excellent books on Christian healing. ‘One Touch from the King’ by Mark Stibbe, and ‘His Healing Hands’ by Neil Cosslett are inspiring.
