Our Hope: The Hands of The Lord

“Put to death therefore what is earthly in you, sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming.”  Colossians 3:5-6 (ESV)

As humans we sometimes put our hopes and dreams in the hands of our flesh, instead of the hands of the Lord.  He has given us great blessings and promises, like no one else can give.  He is to be trusted, and only Him.

I struggle with daily issues just as you do.  Some days are harder than others, and that can be for different reasons.  If we are in the Word on a daily basis, and pray and worship, those days seem to go much smoother as a whole.  But if we wander off, sometimes just a wee bit, the enemy can come against us and play havoc with our minds.  It happens to all of us.

But something that I know from experience is that our attitudes and sense of well-being is influenced by those we associate with. When we surround ourselves with godly people, those who believe like us, and who are uplifting and encouraging, then we are able to control our natural sinful inclinations much easier.  There is something to be said about the company we keep.

My dad, while always making sure I knew to be kind and generous to all, still helped me to understand that those we spend the greatest amount of time with should be Christians who are filled with the love of Christ. When we spend time with friends or family who simply want to control us, and make our decisions for us, we will soon be feeling oppressed, and we will either shut down completely, or we will lash out in frustration and anger.  We may also be easily influenced by their behaviors and way of life, which may look much more inviting because of the pleasure they partake of.

The enemy of us all takes great pleasure in manipulating our feelings and our actions when we are in our weakest state.  We often don’t even realize that he has a foothold in our lives.  He can either be right out there in our face, showing us all the things we are missing out on and suddenly longing for, or he can be quiet as a church mouse, and while smiling sweetly he will offer us things that really look like they are good, and sure would be if they came from our Lord. But when they are given and accepted from the enemy’s hand, we will fall into the evilness of his trap.  And when we recover from his attack, we will be filled with remorse, guilt, and unworthiness.

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”  Matthew 6:33

When we trust Jesus, we are safe.  He is a strong tower we can run to, and we will be safe.  He is all things for and to us.  He is our deliverer, the lifter of our heads, He is our defender, who cares for His children.  When we deter from the path of righteousness that comes from Him, we will absolutely begin looking for things of this world to fulfill us, to bring us happiness, to bring us great pleasure. But these things, no matter how harmless they may appear, will only bring us to ruin.  When we put ourselves in His hands, we will find the greatest of these, and they will be more than enough, just as He Himself is.

Jesus is Our Hope.  His hands are perfect, and strong, and beautiful.  The hands of the Lord will protect us from the wiles of the enemy, and even from our own innate natural penchant for sin. They help us see what is good and right, and how to evade evil.  The hands of the Lord are always within our own reach.  We can touch them, we can feel them, we can trust them.

When did you reach out and grab onto the hands of the Lord?  Please comment here or go to www.mystoryofgrace.com and share with us!

Blessings!