Open Hands by Mary Stewart

The cold, snowy, grey days we have been experiencing lately kind of run together. I tend to get a little down, feeling the days are monotonous and meaningless. Reading Ecclesiastes 3 and the truth that there is a season and a time for everything, reminds me of God’s bigger picture that I may not be seeing. Even though the days are not always meaningful, God is always doing his work.
 
Ecclesiastes 3:9-11 says, “I have seen the burden God has placed on us all. Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.” (NLT)

This verse encourages me to have an open hands approach knowing that God is making everything beautiful in His timing. The question is, will I trust Him? If my hands are closed and tight fisted, thinking I can do things on my own, then I stumble and fall. When this happens I become aware of my inability to do anything without the help of God and his power in my life. Realizing my weakness and God’s strength has helped me to have the open hands outlook. I have seen God’s faithfulness tangibly through the restoration of a broken relationship. God restored it in His perfect timing and not in the way that I would have imagined or planned.
 
I recently read a post from Jennifer Dukes Lee sharing her simple 4-word prayer. “Your will, your way” She calls this her neutral prayer saying,“the best way to hear from God, and to know his will, is to get neutral about the decision you need to make. When we lay down our preferences, we have a clearer vision of where God wants us to go.” So when life seems meaningless, as Solomon expresses in Ecclesiastes, that is where God brings hope. I am able to hold my hands open and trust him saying, “Your will, your way.”

Even though I can’t see  the whole scope of God’s plan for my life I am resting in the assurance that He is making everything beautiful. So, I will continue to trust God to help me be faithful in the small, everyday, sometimes meaningless tasks knowing that there is a greater purpose and plan AND a very meaningful outcome.