Hand Full part 1
I always think it's interesting--and a little bit tragic, really--that people (especially religious folk) are always waiting for God to do something. Because God did what He was going to do. He gave His only begotten Son. And then Jesus did what HE was going to do. He went to the cross and finished the work. I think while we are waiting for God to do something... He's waiting for US to do something. Look at John 3:35. I believe this is the ultimate truth of the universe. What everything we believe is built on. "The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand." And I believe this truth is so vitally important because if the Father loveth the Son... and if the Son is our true identity... that means our heavenly Father loves us. AND it means He has given all things into OUR hand. It means we have everything we need. We can do everything we're called to do. We have all these sayings like, "God never demands anything that He doesn't first provide." "God made grass for a cow to eat before He made a cow." Even going as far back as, "...the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" (Revelation 13:8). But then every time a situation comes up we run to God like a beggar with our hands out praying for Him to swoop in and save the day. And, listen, I'm not saying God can't or won't swoop in to save the day. And I'm not saying we shouldn't cast our cares on Him because He cares for us. What I'm saying is... a lot of the time we make mountains out of molehills. A lot of the time we give things power that have no power. We stress out about things that don't deserve our three t's (time, talent, treasure). It's about understanding what we have, and what we're capable of. Exodus 4:1-5 illustrates my point. It's a little lengthy, but bear with me. "And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The LORD hath not appeared unto thee. And the LORD said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod. And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it. And the LORD said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand: That they may believe that the LORD God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee." Moses needed help. He didn't think he was capable of doing what he was called to do. And God asked him a very important question: "What's in your hand?". And I don't believe it mattered what was actually in Moses's hand. The point was: You have what you need. Remember? He has given all things into our hand. We have what we need. But even when Moses USED what was in his hand... it terrified him. He fled. Because it wasn't what he expected. This is what I want to explore in this Rant series. A. We have what we need. It's already in our hand. B. It might not be what we expect. It might surprise us. Startle us. Even scare us. But that's kind of the point. If it was something we could figure out on our own, we wouldn't need God. His strength is made perfect in weakness. He can do what needs to be done WITH our hand. In us, and through us, and as us. So when we think we have our hands full, when we think it's too much, we need to remember. Our hands... ARE His hands!