Hand Holding and Hand Blessing

UV 1271/10,000 Hand Holding and Hand Blessing
I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;
Isaiah 42 v 6

The Lord has commissioned us to walk or live in righteousness. He does not give us His great commission to be a witness for Him in this world and leave us alone. He will guide us step by step. He will hold our hand and teach us. He will carry us as He carried us from the beginning till our last day. He will protect us. He will make us a covenant mediator for people and enlighten us to be a leader of influence among the unbelievers. We need to have compassion or a heart of sympathy for people in their struggles. We must not be cold hearted like Jonah who desired that the people of Nineveh perish for he judged them to be wicked and decided that they should be not given a second chance to repent. We must desire to lead people to the true light of the world- Jesus. When we experience the grace of Jesus, we are ourselves transformed from being a Gentile to being a gentle person. It is like the transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly. As one author put it, “ There is nothing in a caterpillar that can turn it into a butterfly.” We have no light of our own but the light of truth that Jesus spoke into our lives. Where earlier we crawled, now we can fly. The other day while on a walk I noticed how a butterfly kept flitting from one flower to another in quick succession, collecting and exchanging pollen on its filaments. Similarly, we need to exchange our words and gestures with all the different people we meet in different ways so that some of its sticks to their minds and hearts and convicts them too.

The Lord says, “ I am your window. “ He does not say that “ I am your door.” The reason is that He takes us through a narrow passage. He is not going to be lavish with us. We need to struggle and He will show us the way out through the window for only then will we have a testimony. During our struggles, He holds our hand and leads us. He is the road or the path on which we should walk. He manifests His grace in all our struggles as a Wonderful Counsellor. He is an extraordinary strategist and He will give us the strategies to emerge victorious. Whenever we are confused about what decision to take, what choice to make, we need to consult the Lord and ask for wisdom and guidance. He will give us clarity and vision. He will restore our joy and peace. He will renew us with His strength and power from on high.

The Lord not only holds our hand but He holds us in His right hand. In a time of prayer the Lord gave His five finger message of blessing: the thumb represents Jehovah Nissi, the one who ensures our victory, the index finger represents Jehovah Jireh or His provision that is sufficient for our every need, the third finger represents that He conquered us, the fourth stands for the blood from Calvary that sanctifies us and the last finger of God removes every curse and sickness. His face will shine on us and lighten our loads and enlighten our hearts and minds.

Prateep V Philip