There is an old hymn that says, “Precious Lord, take my hand; lead me on, let me stand.” That is precisely what the Lord wants to do! He wants to take our hand and lead us. His desire for us is that we walk with Him, hold His hand and follow where He leads.

The Spanish have a saying that was even included in a song
 (? by Marty Robbins ?): “Vaya con Dios.” It is my understanding
that it means “Go with God.” Sometimes when folks are parting
and going separate ways, they will say, “May God go with you.”
 I really like the Spanish version best. “Go with God.” That implies
that I will follow God where He leads me. Our English version
implies that I am going and I hope God goes with me.

It is risky to create our own agenda, present it to God with the
request, “God bless my intentions and efforts toward fulfilling them.”
The ideal and safe choice is to allow God to present us with His
agenda which is already blessed, anointed and outlined for our good.
We build our agendas based on priorities that we have knowledge of which is limited. God’s agenda is based on His perfect knowledge reaching into eternity.

To accept God’s agenda, follow Him as He leads means that we
will have to give Him our open hand. It is hard to hold on to a hand
 that is closed in a fist. A fisted-hand can neither give nor receive.
We should look at the hand we are offering to God—Is it an open
 hand or a fist? If it’s a fist, will God have to peel our fingers
open in order to “lead us on?”

We need to examine closely what we are holding on to so tightly
that we cannot release it to God’s hand that is out stretched to ours. Whatever we are holding in our fist comes between God and us.

Is my fist holding on to my will? My agenda? Do I have life
“mapped-out” and my plans all laid out in my blueprint? Can I
open my fist and surrender my will so that I can follow God’s plans?
Jesus prayed an agonizing prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane,
“Father, not my will, but Thine be done.” We will never have to face giving our life for the sins of the world! but God will never ask
anything of us that we are not capable of doing in His strength.
Let us go with God’s agenda and make ours accordingly.

Maybe we have habits in our lives that we are holding in our fist.
Some habits are good. We need to be in the habit of taking a bath
and brushing our teeth. We do many things out of habit without
 giving them a thought. It’s a very good habit to have devotions,
maintain a healthy lifestyle, etc.; but doubtless, we have other
habits that are performed just as unconsciously which are not good.
 We probably would not even need anyone to list them for us.
We know. Any habit that is detrimental to us physically,
emotionally or spiritually is bad and God want us to release
them with our fist opened.

Some people have a serious problem with releasing their resources.
They are clutched tightly in a fist. We are only stewards of God’s warehouse. He gives us twenty-four hours every day, and He
expects us to reserve adequate, quality time for Him
 to enrich our lives.

He owns the “cattle on a thousand hills,” and puts His resources
 at our disposal. He expects us to use them wisely, giving Him
 priority. This includes cash or its equivalent, time, talent and
 anything else He has deposited to our account. We can joyfully
release our resources from our fist if we keep in mind that what we
 do for others is the same as doing it for Him. (Matthew 25:40).

What about our enemies? Are we holding them in our fist,
rehashing every detail of how they wronged us? We hold them
in a tight fist by not forgiving them, by not blessing those who
curse and persecute us. Isn’t it strange that we would hold onto
 a serpent and allow it to continually bite us until enough venom
is injected to cause our death? Jesus wants us to release the
snake of hate, resentment and unforgiveness so He can heal
us of the poisonous, destructive results.

What can we do with an open fist? First of all, it makes it easier
 to keep it clutched by the Savior’s hand. We can then use it to
reach out and shake another’s hand or give a hug. We can give
of our resources as God directs. We can receive what God puts
in our open hand as we share with one another. We can neither
give nor receive until we have opened our fist.

It’s OK to admit that you can’t do it alone. God already knows
 that. All He asks is that you give that tightly closed fist to Him
with a willingness to have it opened. Once it has been sincerely surrendered to Him, He will be ever so gentle as He brings
 flexibility  to the stiffened fist creating an open hand to
 give and receive blessings.

Jesus met a rich man who held treasure in a tight fist that he
 had accumulated by cheating his own people. Jesus invited
Himself to the home of Zacchaeus; and after spending time
with Jesus, Zacchaeus began to open his fist. Spending time
 with Jesus is a life-changing experience! By the time their
visit had ended, Zacchaeus was stretching out his hand to restore ”fourfold” all that he had taken fraudulently as a tax collector.
 He didn’t stop there; he told Jesus he wanted to use half of his accumulated resources to alleviate the plight of the poor.
Friendship with a giver influences us to imitate their behavior.
 When we spend time with the Master-giver, our fist will begin
 to relax, creating a receptacle to receive and then to give out of our resources. The process Jesus uses to accomplish this is to begin by softening our hearts. We are overwhelmed by His generosity as
He opens our heart, then our hand. A tender heart has an open hand.

Give God your fist! He’ll show you His heart and give you His hand!

Delores Adams
6/6/2003
Copyrighted.  All rights reserved.


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