Today I was reminded of opening my hands to receive what God has for me. It shocked me a bit because I had thought I was open for God to move freely in and through my life. But I was reminded to empty and open my hands to receive. So I must have had something in them to keep me from being open-handed. That got me thinking: what kind of things do we keep in our hands even without noticing it. What do you think?

We might carry bags full of worries or shame. Or maybe we are so full of new gadgets and latest fashion items that we don’t want to let go. But wouldn’t it be sad to pass up what God Almighty has for us? Especially if we fill our hands with things that have absolutely no eternal value. And that’s what we are doing, aren’t we?

The things that fill our hearts and minds are the things we carry in our hands. The more stressed we are about them, the tighter we hold on to them. Yet, the opposite is the blessed way. We are called to open our hands to receive.

Open your hands to receive

Only when we keep our hands open for God, we can be certain we are a) not holding on to wrong things to0 tightly and b) we won’t miss anything God has for us. And in theory, this is how I live. But I do fail. Without even noticing it. I get so carried about current happenings that I forget to keep my hands empty. That’s why I love God’s gentle nudges to open my hands to receive.

Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts. (1 John 5:21, NLT)

God can’t give anything to us if we have something else in our hands. So check your hands. Let go of anything that does not belong there. Leave your excess baggage at the foot of the cross. Fix your eyes on God and leave your idols behind. Surrender your heart, mind, and soul to God. He wants your hands empty, open for better things. Blessed things. Eternal things.

That’s what I am doing today: emptying my hands to receive all God has for me. Why don’t you join me? A new season is here, time to empty our hands and follow Jesus wherever God is leading us next.

Let us pray

Gracious God,
Your plan is the best.
Forgive us for forgetting once in a while
we are not supposed to fill our hands with anything and everything.
Enable me to let go of trivial distracting things
and those things that we tend to worry the most.
We surrender our everything to you.
Here are our empty hands,
make us ready to receive what you have for us.
Enable us to wait as long as it takes.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen

Q4U: Do you try live empty-handed? What has God placed in your empty hands?

Be blessed, my fellow pilgrim, as you trust God with your everything and keep your hands open to receive!

Photo by rawpixel on Unsplash.