When God Gives You a Hand - Sarah Lynn Phillips

I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. Psalm 73:23

I stopped typing … mid-sentence.

What was going on? I wiggled my right thumb, pressed the space bar a few times, and wiggled it again. Why did my thumb joint hurt . . . suddenly?

My mom's arthritis issues came to mind. She lost the ability to cut apples, peel potatoes, slice bread, and even write well because the joints in her thumbs prohibited her from doing so. My heart sank. Wasn't I a little young for this? Didn't God know I needed my hands to keep house, cook, and write? Didn't I deal with enough limitations? And why my right hand?

Another voice echoed in my thoughts. That of a doctor … four years after our car crash. "People who've been victims of trauma develop severe arthritis after ten years." She pointed her finger at me. "You have six years left." Eight years had passed.

Over the next few weeks, the pain came and went. Some days, I could type and work like normal. Other days, I noticed some discomfort—not bad, but enough for me to breath a prayer asking God to preserve my hand and thumb capabilities.

A long-forgotten phrase came to me as a whisper at first, nudging me to look it up. I found the words tucked in the writings of Isaiah: "For I, the LORD your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, 'Fear not. I am the one who helps you'" (Isaiah 41:13). I noted verse 10: "I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

In ancient days, the right hand signified strength, authority, and blessing. I drew great comfort from the prophet’s words. The God of the universe holds my right hand, the very hand giving me trouble. His presence scatters my fears and offers reassurance—just as when a friend squeezes your hand, sharing hope and warm support without a word.  Only God’s touch is better. Infinitely better.

Humanly speaking, I will pursue a healthy lifestyle, including an anti-inflammatory diet. But every time my thumb acts up, I'm prompted to remember that God promises to hold my right hand with His right hand.

God promises to help us, no matter what the future chapters of our life stories hold. 

Tweetable: Are you holding God's hand?

Sarah Lynn Phillips has authored numerous articles, devotions, and poems for both online and print publications. She offers a vision of hope in the hard times through her writing and speaking. Her favorite place is home where she enjoys spending time with her family, hosting her writers' group, and reading a great story. Contact Sarah: sarahlynnphillips3@gmail.com. You can get her book, Penned Without Ink, by clicking on the image. 

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Sin Sick - Martin Wiles

No, it’s because of your wickedness! There’s no limit to your sins. Job 22:5 NLT

“Have you anointed her and prayed for her healing?”

My wife suffers from various physical ailments—too many, in fact, for her young age. She has undergone numerous surgeries to remove tumors that could have turned deadly. Then came surgeries to repair hernias, remove a gall bladder, take off planter’s warts, and repair carpal tunnel. She still needs to have herniated disks in her back and neck repaired. To top off these issues, she suffers from fibromyalgia, degenerative arthritis, and neuropathy. Every trip to the doctor seems to entail another medicine or a further diagnosis.

Had Michelle lived in Job’s time, there would have been any number of good church folks who would be telling her she sinned. Though a righteous man—declared so by God and himself, Job was accused by several fair-weather friends of having sinned against God. Why else would he be afflicted by boils and have lost most of his family and possessions? Even his wife told him to curse God so he could die and get his miserable life over with.

Job maintained his innocence, and at the end of the story God corroborated his testimony. Sickness is the bane of living in a world tainted by sin. The world God originally created was free from sickness—and all of the other results of sin, and the new world He will create at the end of time will be identical.

While sickness came when sin entered the world, all sickness is not the result of individual sins. 

If this were true, my wife would be one of the greatest sinners in the world—when in fact she is quite saintly. God can and does use sickness as a means of disciplining or punishing those who revel in willful sin, but having a cold doesn’t necessarily mean I’ve committed a particular sin.

When my pastor friend asked if I had anointed and prayed for my wife, my answer was yes. But she hasn’t been healed. Just as sickness is not always the result of sin, so God doesn’t always choose to heal our sicknesses when we ask. He is sovereign. I must trust His plan.

If you’re sick, examine your spiritual life. 

If it’s in order, pray for healing, but leave the results to an all-wise God.

Prayer: Father, we entrust our health related matters to you. If sin is the cause, convict us. If it’s not, then give us courage to trust You and endure. 

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