Our hands
from the Salvation Army, Vepery, Madras.
Read Ecclesiastes 9:10 and Psalm 31: 14-15. Ask yourself some of these questions...
- Which part of your body protects you when you fall?
- When some object comes near your eye, which part of your body rushes to protect it?
- When your back itches, which part of your body do you use to scratch?
- When you want to put food in your mouth, which part of your body do you use?
- Which part of your body do you use to button your shirt, comb your hair, brush your teeth, carry shopping or turn the pages of a book?
Yes, our hands are the most used parts of our body. The word ‘hand’ is mentioned 1,433 times in the Bible. Can you think of other passages in the Bible mentioning the hand? The wrist has eight bones in two rows so it can move backwards and forwards and over half way round. No other joint is like it. The palm has five bones to act as support for the hand. Each finger has a nail on the end and the thumb is set so that it meets the fingers from the opposite direction. Look at your fingers. They are all different lengths. Is it a mistake by God the maker? It would look so much nicer if they were all even. But wait! Close your hand - and now they are all even.
No wonder that Solomon calls the hands the ‘keepers of the house’ in Ecclesiastes 12:3. God, too, has hands in which he holds us securely - no man can snatch us out of God’s hands (John 10:27-29).
The touch of a hand can mean so much. When words fail, in times of crisis and sorrow, the touch of a hand shows sympathy and understanding. Hands can also be banged in anger, clapped in joy or appreciation or used to show so many other emotions.
Think of your hands. Look at them and talk about what you can do with them. Tell each other about the special skills you use your hands for.
Pray together. Look at your hands and praise God for them and for his caring hands. Think again of God’s hands and thank him for the way he holds you secure, guides you and supports you.