As God's Hands

If you look at just the right angle you can see the hand prints of the grandchildren on my glass doors. How precious are those tiny hands! I know I should get the Windex and clean my doors but I hesitate to remove the tangible evidence that they have been here. As I was contemplating how to form this into a devotion, the Lord led me to this verse in the scriptures, “Look, on my palms I’ve inscribed you; your walls are continually before me.” Isaiah 49:16 (CEB). We are marked by God’s handprints; from head to toe, He has identified us with Himself. His hands molded each one of us and made us into who we are. His hands are so enormous that He has engraved everyone into His palm. Like a life-sized dye cast, He has shaped our soul.

We desperately need His tender touch. You and I need the hand of God to reshape us daily into His original design and purpose. Just as the children have left their handprints for me to see…and anyone else who comes into my house before I clean them off…others will see God’s handprint on us by the way we live our lives. Tangible evidence of God within us.

Every day you meet people who are recipients of your handprints. Just as the hands of your heavenly Father mark you, so you mark others. This quote by Boyd Bailey says it perfectly, “Handle others as your Heavenly Father handles you.” That’s a heavy thought to consider, isn’t it? I am afraid that I have failed miserably at doing just that.

How are we as Christians able to handle others as God the Father handles us? Only by taking the nail-scarred hand of Jesus and learning of God’s love. Christ himself suffered on account of sins, ONCE for all, the righteous one on behalf of the unrighteous. He did this in order to bring you into the presence of God. 1 Peter 3:18 (CEB) (emphasis mine) Only by knowing how much God loves us can we then be His hand to others.

The closing thought today is a portion of a beautiful prayer that Mother Theresa prayed daily. May we also make it part of our prayers every day.

Shine through me, and be so in me that everyone I come in contact with may feel Your presence in my soul.