Have you ever just looked at your hand and thought about all it can do? Our hands were created with a palm and five digits, four fingers, and a thumb. With our hands, we can grip large objects and move them or do the smallest tasks with dexterity, like threading a needle. All of the muscles and joints work together to provide us with a wide range of motion and incredible precision. Our hands contain the densest areas of nerve endings making them the best source of the sense of touch. Just about everything we do involves the use of our hands in some way.
My husband had an accident when he was younger and almost lost his hand. The doctors were able to save it, but he lost some of the range of motion and feeling. He can easily burn or cut that hand because he doesn't feel it, (not good when you’re a chef). He is more likely to drop things if he is using that hand to pick them up because he can't feel them. We don't realize how we much we rely on our hands every day.
5, the number of Grace
An article from Bible News says this about hands: "The human hands as the creation of God are full of symbolic meaning. God made the hands and placed His stamp of approval upon them. He gave each hand a unique identity. No two sets of fingerprints are the same. Each hand has 5 fingers, the number for grace. Four fingers are weak, but the addition of the thumb provides strength, which is an illustration of grace. From<http://www.biblenews1.com/hands/handb.htm>
One of the definitions of grace is God's empowering presence. Our hands are a reminder of God's empowering presence in all that we do. The bible talks about Moses stretching forth his hand and there was darkness (Exodus 10:21, 22). Moses stretched out his hand over the sea and Jehovah made the sea dry, then again and the sea returned. (Exodus 14:21, 27) We don't believe that Moses holding out his hand actually created darkness or moved the sea. When Moses held up his hand, he saw the number 5, God's grace. He was releasing God's empowering presence into the situation.
Laying on of Hands
A favorite scripture of mine is the second part of Psalm 139:5-"You have laid Your hand upon me." In the New Testament, we see Jesus laying hands upon people to bless and heal. I wasn't there for Jesus to physically do that, but this scripture tells me He has laid his hand upon me. His hand of grace has imparted his empowering presence to me. I have been blessed by the hands of Jesus!
Now it is our turn. As the body of Christ, we are to lay hands on others to allow God's grace to flow through our hands to bless and heal. We do this in many ways besides actually putting our hands on people. It happens whenever we use our hands. Acts 19, verse 11 says God did unusual and extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul. Notice it was Paul's hands but God doing the work. And what was Paul doing? He was working his "day job". But the presence of God was so strong that " that handkerchiefs or towels or aprons which had touched his skin were carried away and put upon the sick, and their diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them." Talk about marvelous hands!
As you go about your day using the marvelous hands God has blessed you with, thank Him for His grace. Let your fingers be a reminder of His empowering presence that enables you to do what you are doing and be a blessing to others.
If you enjoyed today's post, you can click here https://jodelights.com/pages/28-day-writing-challenge to find all of the posts in this series.
Brother Lawrence was a 16th century monk who used his marvelous hands to cook for his fellow monks. He practiced living in the empowering presence of God. This canvas is suitable for framing or hung as is. Perfect for any kitchen!
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