What's in My Hand?

Daily Reading: Ecclesiastes 9

The righteous and the wise and their deeds are in the hand of God. (Ecclesiastes 9.1)

Devotional Thought: "What's in my hand?" I asked with my hand behind my back.  Grayson, my grandson, wasn't satisfied at guessing.  He jumped at me and grabbed my arm, trying to see my hand and what was in it.  We wrestled a bit until he finally saw the surprise that "Pahpooh" had for him.

Like Grayson was with me, you may wonder what God is holding in his hand.  But unlike Grayson, you don't have to guess or to wrestle God to find out!  He tells us what is in his hand in Ecclesiastes 9.1:

·       The righteous.  The Bible says, "None is righteous, no, not one" (Romans 3.10).  How, then, can we hope to be held in the hand of God?  Only through faith, by the grace of God!  Whether it was Abel offering an acceptable sacrifice, Abraham believing God, or Noah constructing an ark in reverent fear, "faith is counted as righteousness" (Romans 4.5).  Have you been made righteous by faith in Jesus Christ?  Then you are in the hand of God!

·       The wise.  Jesus told a parable about the wise and foolish builders.  The wise person builds his/her life on the Rock which is Jesus Christ.  Living wisely, living by the Word of God, will keep you safe from the evil of this age and from the destruction of the age to come.

·       Their deeds.  In 1 Corinthians 3, the Apostle Paul addressed this concern.  Our work, when built on the foundation of Jesus Christ, will endure on the Day of the Lord!  John wrote: "Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord... that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them" (Revelation 14.13).

What's in God's hand?  The righteous.  The wise.  Their deeds.  You are!

Prayer: "I feel the touch of hands so kind and tender.  They're leading me in paths that I must trod. I'll have no fear for Jesus walks beside me, and I'm sheltered in the arms of God" (~Dottie Rambo).  Thank you, Lord, for holding me in your hand.  Amen.

Psalm of the Day: Psalm 14.4-7

4 Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers who eat up my people as they eat bread and do not call upon the Lord?

5 There they are in great terror, for God is with the generation of the righteous.

6 You would shame the plans of the poor, but the Lord is his refuge.

7 Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When the Lord restores the fortunes of his people, let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.