My Hands or His?

My Hands or His?

by David Brenneman 

Life Principle 19: Anything you hold too tightly, you will lose.

Admit it—in a tough situation, your first emotional response is to take control. We all want control. We want to live with the assurance everything will be okay and the things that aren’t can be fixed with concentrated effort. Secretly, we often think, “If I plan carefully and labor enough, I can overcome any difficulty.”

The problem comes when our efforts aren’t enough—when the difficulty we face is greater than all of our resources or completely outside our scope of influence. God allows these trials for an important reason: He wants us to recognize that He is in control.

When you face circumstances that rapidly deplete your spiritual, emotional, and physical reserves, you may want to cling to something strong out of fear. The question you must consider is whether your worries drive you to the arms of God or to your own resources.

Are you hanging on to something other than the Lord? Are you gripping some form of earthly security instead of trusting Him to help you? Remember, whatever you hold too tightly, you will lose. Whatever you’re clutching for safety has become an idol for you. Regardless of whether it’s wealth, giftedness, relationships, or religious rituals, God is not going to allow you to keep it as your source of confidence—a role that rightly belongs to Him. Rather, He will allow it to fail you so you will see He truly is your sovereign and unfailing Lord.

God longs for you to release yourself into His control and eternal support. He will take care of all that concerns you in the best way possible, and He will also sustain you in the process (Phil. 4:6-7). Though the Lord will test you in time, it will always be with the purpose of demonstrating His never-ending love.

- Dr. Charles Stanley Life Principles Devotional 

When facing adversity there's but two paths to walk. One is the right way the other is obviously the way of error. 

We either grow stronger in our walk with Jesus by relying on Him or we are slowly sliding away.  

We are among those who are and have been raised to fend for ourselves in this world. 

We are told to be all we can be. 

We are told of how entitled we are, of how we deserve this or that. 

We are told that if we aren't successful it means we aren't trying hard enough. 

Note in all those scenarios and all that aren't mentioned, if God isn't at the center of your choices and decisions, you're not going to succeed in your life by God's definition of success. 

God's definition of success is as opposite as what the Jews expected of the Messiah when He was to come. He came to serve, not to be served. He came to give His life as a ransom for many. He came to live in full obedience to His Father in Heaven...even death on the cross. 

Our ways are not God's ways. 

Our thoughts are not His thoughts. 

His are higher than ours in all respects. He knows the end from the beginning for every single person who lives.  

My days these days are swept up mostly in job searches. Doing what it has been given to me to be doing.  

There's options available to us financially but at this point they would be my solution to our problems. Not God's solution to our situation. God never has problems. God only has situations. Events that desire a response or resolution.  

As Dr. Stanley pointed out our reaction is to try to grab the bull by the horns and rescue ourselves. 

The thing is that's God's job. That's the job of my living Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. If He saved my soul can I not trust Him with what happens in my life?

Our worrying does nothing beneficial. Our weeping over how things appear does nothing truly beneficial. 

As I have quoted on other posts, the song "I Trust in God my Savior The one who will never fail He will never fail".

We aren't to stand idle doing nothing, but rather to do whatever God puts before us to be doing. Be it job searching, lawn mowing, laundry, cleaning, selling, time in His Word, working...anything He sets before us. What does the Bible say? "Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve." Colossians 3:23-24.

Setting our minds on the things that are above and not on the things that are of this world.  

"Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you." Philippians 4:8-9.

You either serve yourself or you serve the Lord.  

"If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15.

In our adversity we often drop to the ground in despair, unmoving. Yet does it not say in Psalms 23 that the Shepherd takes us THROUGH the valley of the shadow of death? I see nothing of taking up residence there...even for a moment. 

My prayers continue not only for my job search but for those whom I left behind. My former employer cannot stop my entering in the lives of those I knew there in prayer. I pray for our struggle through this. I pray for those whom the Spirit has made me aware need prayer. I pray for our next steps. For discernment. For His wisdom to prevail. I am His child. I am a joint heir with my Savior and Lord. I am loved by my Savior and Lord and my Father in Heaven. He first loved me and has disclosed Himself to me. I am His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works that I might walk in them. 

He isn't obligated to explain the why's of my life. It's on me to take up my own cross and follow Him. 

Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6.

The mind of man plans his ways but the Lord directs his steps. Proverbs 16:9.

We have two ways to do life. 

His way or ours. We need to choose wisely and the only wise choice is His way. 

We do not know what He knows nor can we see what He sees. We do not know what He's preparing to do in our lives through our obedience to Him. We don't know if He's going to part the waters for us to walk through on dry ground or have us walk on the water. We might get in a boat, only the Lord knows and we are to trust and obey. 

Trust and obey for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey.

All New American Standard Bible Scripture Excerpts used by permission. (C) 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. A corporation not for profit.