3/9/2025
The Bible frequently uses the imagery of God’s hands to help us understand His divine nature, His attributes, and actions. Though Christ tells us in John 4:24 that “God is spirit…” the Bible uses humanlike descriptors because it is easier for us to relate to the Divine’s characteristics. Today, I want us to explore what it means to be held, guided, protected, and transformed by the hands of our Creator – and why there is no safer place for us to be.
First, God is our Source … of everything: life, love, light, our being, our universe, our family, the solutions to all that troubles us: Everything big or small, seen or unseen. God is the Creator, our Creator. Isaiah 48:13 declares, “My hand laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand spread out the heavens; when I call to them, they stand forth together.” These hands that laid out the cosmos with infinite power are the same hands that carefully formed humanity. Psalm 8:3 even speaks of the heavens as “the work of your fingers,” suggesting intricate, detailed craftsmanship in God's creative activity.
These creative hands did not just craft existence and disappear. They not only bring constant newness into Creation but maintain all that is. Job 12:10 tells us, “In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.” Every breath, every heartbeat, every moment exists through His sustaining hands.
A second blessing of God’s hands is the security and comfort they bring. Jesus gave this beautiful assurance in John 10:27-30: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 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.” We are doubly protected, for we are in the hands of Jesus and the hands of God. We cannot be anywhere safer than walking hand in hand with Christ and our Divine Father. The world can threaten us all it wants, but we are secure and protected in the loving grip of God.
And these hands do not just protect us, they actively support us and strengthen us on our journey while in these bodies. Isaiah 41:10 promises, “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” The same hand that created the Universe is the same hand that supports us in our moments of need.
Just a side note: The Bible mirrors many eastern cultures throughout the world when relating the right hand as the “righteous hand.” It is not the God was right-handed, and it does not mean the left hand is inferior. But cultures have symbolized the right hand as being the hand of honor, authority, strength, trust, and support, possibly because genetically more people are righthanded and hold a weapon in that hand. We continue to shake hands using our right hand as a sign of trust. This idea has been part of our collective unconscious for eons.
The Psalmist understood this supportive presence when he wrote in Psalm 63:8, “My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me.” When we feel weak or unable to stand, God's right hand – His hand of strength and power supports us. We are never left to face life's challenges through our own limited strength. In the words of Isaiah 41:13, “For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.” God’s power becomes our power. This is not distant, detached divine assistance – this is intimate, hands on, personal guidance.
One of the most touching images in Scripture regarding God's hands comes from Isaiah 49:16: “Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me.” This verse speaks to God's unfailing memory and constant attention toward the protection, security, and essentials of His people.
In ancient times, engraving something was a permanent process – cutting into stone or metal to create a lasting impression. God declares that His people are not written in ink that can fade or be washed away but engraved – permanently cut into the palms of His hands. Baptist Preacher Charles Spurgeon described this as God saying, “I shall not forget you. I constantly recollect you. Your name, your business, and your circumstances are at my fingertips.”
Every time God looks at His hands, He sees us. Our needs, our struggles, our hopes are continuously before Him. We are never forgotten, never overlooked, never lost in the crowd. We are permanently engraved on His hands and are always in the heart and mind of the Creator of the universe.
We are meant to trust and surrender into God’s hands. Jesus us showed us the way on the cross. In Luke 23:46 we read, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” Jesus draws upon his studies of scripture and echoes the words of Psalm 31:8 – “Into your hands I commit my spirit; deliver me, LORD, my faithful God.” He shows us that he found comfort and assurance in placing Himself fully in the Father's hands.
If Jesus, the Son of God, trusted the Father's hands with His very spirit, how much more should we entrust our lives, our concerns, our future to those same hands? David, the author of Psalm 31, facing extreme stress with people trying to kill him, being slandered, and suffering guilt and shame, still brought his troubles to God, demonstrating that we should bring our troubles to the One who can help us.
I have heard it said that by leaving everything in God’s hands, we will eventually see God’s hands in everything. Author Boyd Bailey wrote, “I’ve never regretted giving anything to the Lord, but I have regretted taking it back.” To leave it in God’s hands means that we actively trust in God’s promises and character and trust that whatever we place in God’s hands is in safekeeping, that it will be attended to, and that we are free from any further influence and effects. We release the worry and dis-ease from our heart and mind because it no longer belongs to us; it is God’s.
One day a little six-year-old girl struggled to pull out her first loose tooth. With tears streaming down her face, she accepted her father's offer of help. When he asked, “Do you trust Daddy?” she nodded without hesitation. Her fear disappeared once she realized she did not have to face the challenge alone, so she released the concern into her father’s hands. With one quick motion, he removed the tooth. What seemed impossible for the child was simple for her father, and it is the same with our Heavenly Father. We can trust Him with our fears and concerns.
It is my prayer that we take this question daily to God: What do I need to place into Your hands? A relationship? A financial concern? A health issue? A decision about the future? I pray that we commit ourselves and our concerns daily to those same powerful, loving hands.
The Bible assures us that we are all in God's hands – and there is no better place to be. His hands created us, they protect us, strengthen us, remember us, and His hands welcome our complete trust. I pray that today, we open our hands, release our grip on whatever we have been clinging to, and place it in the loving hands of our Heavenly Father.
Remember the promise of Isaiah 41:10: “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” We are safe in God’s hands; there is no safer place we can be.
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