In 1986 Holly Dunn released her second single called “Daddy’s Hands.” In this song Dunn reflected upon her various memories of her father’s hands and the many different roles they played in her life. They were used in discipline, work, marriage, and many other ways, each of which served as a reflection of his love. I think most people have similar memories of their father’s hands through childhood. Those hands, in many ways, have molded us into the people we have become.
It is interesting that when we turn to the Bible we see our development being directly attributed to another set of hands – those of our heavenly Father:
“The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words. Then I went down to the potter’s house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it. Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the Lord. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mind hand, O house of Israel” (Jeremiah 18:1-6).
While God’s hands obviously have many different functions, when especially directed toward the development of the Christian I believe we can see some amazing realities with those hands.
His hands provide. David spoke of God’s generosity – “Thou openest thine hand, and satifiest the desire of every living thing” (Psalm 145:16). That providing nature has been His standard operating procedure throughout history. In Genesis 2 God planted the perfect paradise, ripe with every provision needed and plan man in it. In Exodus 16 God provided His people with quail and manna to feed them during their exodus. In Matthew 6 Jesus reassured humanity that God continues to take care of all and will specifically take care of His own. But far above those physical provisions our loving God has provided us all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ (Ephesians 1:3). Our God is a providing Father.
His hands protect. You might recall Moses’ words of praise after God delivered them from the danger of Egypt’s army. “Thy right hand, O Lord, is become glorious in power: thy right hand, O Lord, hath dashed in pieces the enemy” (Exodus 15:6). Miriam later offered similar words of praise (vs. 21). But God didn’t just protect His people physically, he continued to protect His people by His law written with His own hands (Exodus 34:1), a similar protection that He continues to offer today (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Our God is a protecting Father.
His hands preserve. In John 10:22-30 Jesus plainly responded to the question as to whether He was the Christ and He plainly answered by promising preservation. I don’t believe that it’s a coincidence that this conversation came immediately on the heel of His characterization as the Good Shepherd. Is there not an implicit trust a sheep has in its shepherd, a trust that their preservation is His foremost concern? That’s exactly the relationship we have with Jesus – “I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep” (vs. 11). There is absolutely no doubt that our God is a preserving Father.
In times of plenty and in times of pain we can be comforted by knowing the blessings we have offered by the hand of our Father. His hands have shaped us and molded us according to His direction and His blessings.
-Andy