Deuteronomoy 32:39 The Hands of our Creator

Deuteronomy 32:39 “See now that I myself am He! There is no god besides me. I put to death and I bring to life, I have wounded and I will heal, and no one can deliver out of my hand.”

Hands, we all have them – or at least most of us do. Such a strange appendage to our body, but one we could not live without. We use our hands for everything, from holding coffee or tea cups to writing or typing, even to speaking! We use our hands to cook, to mix, to pour, to play, to express, to describe, to trace, to design. Is it any wonder then that we often times refer to “God's hand” or the “hand of the Lord”? It is something tangible that we can relate to of His.  When we refer to the might of God's hand, we have the reference of our own might. When we speak of His encompassing, protecting hands we know about our own. When we speak of the creation of His hands, we can compare it to the creation of our hands. It makes relating to God so much easier!

And God's hands are so wonderful!  If you have ever watched a master craftsman work with their hands, you know how precisely they move, nothing is done without a purpose, its the same with how God works. The master craftsman's hands move smoothly and gently over the material with the tools. A soft tweak here, an easy nudge there and suddenly something that was going horribly wrong has been corrected. When God creates, He works like the master craftsman that He is, working on a master-piece and you are that masterpiece! The people and events that you run across in your daily life are the basic tools that our God uses to shape and form and mold your life, your character, your personality, you into what He wants you to be. The pain and suffering that you feel, He feels too. The anguish He feels matches and exceeds our own anguishes as do the joys. He celebrates with us when we celebrate, rejoicing in our success, no matter how small it seems to us. He mourns over us when we fail, even the slightest bit, diverging ever so slightly from His magnificent plan for us – and then He creates a new plan for us, using our flaws, faults, and failures to showcase Himself ever more.

God's hand is so much a part of our life, its is integral to who we are, and yet we neglect so often to thank God for the little things as much as for the big things.  When things go wrong, suddenly we cry out for God to fix everything thats wrong, but when everything is going smoothly and all is good, we forget that He is just as involved then too. Perhaps when uncomplimentary events unfold in our lives  that is God's way of drawing our attention back to Him. He works so hard in our lives and yet receives so little credit.

This week then, lets make more of an effort to see God's guiding hand in our lives, receptive to the slight hints and pressures He puts on us to conform us more closely to His will. He is, after all, The Master Craftsman, and we are His greatest work. Lets praise Him for everything He does in our lives, not just the big stuff. Let us strive to follow His plan - the best plan – for our lives.

Sing praise to God who reigns above, the God of all creation,
The God of power, the God of love, the God of our salvation.
With healing balm my soul is filled and every faithless murmur stilled:
To God all praise and glory.
                                                                                  ^{Jo­hann J. Schütz, 1675.}