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
I have always been troubled by the poem "Footprints..." because I don't think it paints a picture of the truth. It strikes me the same way as the "God is my co-pilot" bumper sticker.
ReplyDeleteThere is never a moment in anyone's life, believer and unbeliever, where we are not being carried by Jesus Christ because He is the creator and sustainer of all things.
But this is moreso true for the believer, because there is no good work we do in our own strength; they all come solely from the power of Jesus Christ who works and wills through us.
Lyn C.
I agree with your premiss that there is never a time when Jesus is NOT carrying us. I believe poems point is that when things are difficult it might seem to us that we are alone but that is far from reality. We are never walking through this world alone,especially believers Romans 8:28
ReplyDeletethe reason i asked the question yesterday is im really bitter towards some people and i do love Jesus and i know we are to forgive but its hard when they are putting the missing pieces in fornt of me and no matter how hard i pray i cant let go
ReplyDeleteDear Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteI am sorry I missed you post of July 18. Can you help me out though. I don't remember you asking me a question about forgiveness although I do get that question often. If you can help jog my memory or let me know who you are I will do all I can to help. You can email me at scottcosper1@aol.com
the question was just how do you forgive and do you preach on it
ReplyDelete