Open Hands

When you are in the hospital many hands are laid upon you; doctors, nurses, aids, family, friends and pastors. It is amazing the sense you develop as you feel others interacting with you – simply by how they touch you. I found myself praying for good nurses and aids - those with tender and loving touch.

As I reflect on this new insight I thought about Paul and the different places he stayed on his way to trial in Rome. From guards to friends he experienced the full range. I wonder if he prayed as I did. What seems evident is that he kept his hands open in a humble posture before God. He allowed God to place in his hands what he needed for a period of time but Paul also held these things loosely so God could give him more or take something away in order to give him something better.

That something better was not always something that looked better to those praying for Paul’s deliverance from Roman officials. Often it was something that allowed God’s glory to shine even more in and through Paul’s life.

So here I am, 22 days into my second round of a hospital stay and yet I seek to glorify God in and through all He has placed in my hands. I am reminded of the two verses below and my own situation.

Luke 8:16
“No one lights a lamp and hides it in a clay jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, they put it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light.

2 Corinthians 4:7
But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.

My jar of clay is continually being filled and I don’t want to hide the light. So how do I best let His light shine? Through the cracks in my clay jar, that’s how. As the Lord puts me through the furnace of affliction and I come to the end of my own strength I rely on Him more. The cracks created show my frailty but also serve to allow His Glory to shine through my weaknesses.

As God works in your life, hold things loosely and welcome His best into your life. Also, let the cracks in your jar serve to shine His light into the darkness of this world. We can glorify our Father in Heaven in many ways – when you find yourself at the end of your own strength, He can really shine.