I was sitting in one of those comfortable sofa seats at Starbucks this morning, reading the Psalms, when I came across this verse, "Nevertheless I am continually with You; You hold me by my right hand." (Psalm 73:23). As I meditated on that verse it became juxtaposed to one of my favorite verses (Isaiah 41:10) where God says, "I will uphold you with My righteous right hand." The phrase "right hand" is used quite often in scripture and the picture I had in my mind was that of God hold my hand and guiding me through life. Sort of like the famous poem, "Footprints in the Sand," but with two sets of prints visible at this moment. It’s a beautiful picture, God walking with us hand in hand, but for some reason this time something seemed to be amiss.
The problem was obvious once I tried to visualize this concept and realized that as far as I can tell, scripture always pictures God’s right hand grasping our right hand. Now, if I go for a walk on the beach with my wife, she holds my right hand but I hold her left one. It would be a little awkward if I took her by her right hand with my right hand and we began to stroll off down the beach. As clumsy as we are it might be funny, but not very enjoyable. I began to wonder, when would I ever take hold of my wife’s right hand with my right hand?
Then it hit me. I would if I were rescuing her.
Now, those scriptures came to life like never before, fitting ever more perfectly into the whole counsel of the Word. I began to see the power of God’s Grace in this picture, for it is not me and God walking along as He assists me through life, but rather the strong arm of His Grace rescuing me in my ever present helplessness. With this in mind, I see the position of my right hand more like that of the lame man in Acts 3 as Peter, in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, took him by the right hand and lifted him up.
I praise God for the multitude of times He rescued me by His righteous right hand. I am thankful the Holy Spirit opened my eyes to the fullness of these scriptures, so that I will never see them the same way again. Finally, I give all glory to Jesus Christ for His willingness to surrender to His Father’s will, making it possible for me take hold of that righteous right hand and be rescued.
Praise God,
Wm. Scott Cosper
The problem was obvious once I tried to visualize this concept and realized that as far as I can tell, scripture always pictures God’s right hand grasping our right hand. Now, if I go for a walk on the beach with my wife, she holds my right hand but I hold her left one. It would be a little awkward if I took her by her right hand with my right hand and we began to stroll off down the beach. As clumsy as we are it might be funny, but not very enjoyable. I began to wonder, when would I ever take hold of my wife’s right hand with my right hand?
Then it hit me. I would if I were rescuing her.
Now, those scriptures came to life like never before, fitting ever more perfectly into the whole counsel of the Word. I began to see the power of God’s Grace in this picture, for it is not me and God walking along as He assists me through life, but rather the strong arm of His Grace rescuing me in my ever present helplessness. With this in mind, I see the position of my right hand more like that of the lame man in Acts 3 as Peter, in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, took him by the right hand and lifted him up.
I praise God for the multitude of times He rescued me by His righteous right hand. I am thankful the Holy Spirit opened my eyes to the fullness of these scriptures, so that I will never see them the same way again. Finally, I give all glory to Jesus Christ for His willingness to surrender to His Father’s will, making it possible for me take hold of that righteous right hand and be rescued.
Praise God,
Wm. Scott Cosper
