He Holds My Right Hand!

You hold my hand, Lord, always: 
King of this whole world, you lead me, 
making my right hand your chosen tool 
so that each act becomes 
a holy service 
in your master plan. 

You hold my hand, you love me: 
Lover of my soul, you treasure me 
and nurture every gifting given 
and make each weakness 
a new way 
to intervene with strength. 

You hold my hand, you hold me: 
Father-love that cares for me 
that clears the rubbish from the path 
that grasps me tight 
when gale-force winds 
would sweep me off my feet. 

You hold my hand, you fill me: 
Spirit-love that fills me up 
and squeezes out the selfishness 
so that instead your love and joy 
reach out with grace 
to spread your peace. 
 

Have you ever been in such a tough spot that you were in despair? Were you ever totally discouraged by corruption and violence that was hurting people you cared about? Maybe it wasn’t even that serious, but you were caught between some choices and needed clear guidance about what you should do.

I felt that way when war broke out in Côte d’Ivoire back in 2002, and during the long years following that when rebels held control of the northern region where we lived. They were desperate to maintain power, and there was no rule of law. On the other hand, the government in the south had not been meeting the needs of those in the north for years. The people around us were in a desperate state.

On the other hand, we were seeing our Lord work in us and in his people, challenging us to keep on reaching out in love to each other and to the oppressed around us. I know I could not have managed that hard path unless my Master had given me confidence in his constant Presence, along with guidance every day. That is when it became truly meaningful to me that “he holds me by my right hand:”

Yet I still belong to you; you hold my right hand. ²⁴ You guide me with your counsel, leading me to a glorious destiny. ²⁵ Whom have I in heaven but you? I desire you more than anything on earth. ²⁶ My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever. (Psalm 73:23-26 NLT)

I was translating the Pentateuch with my Nyarafolo coworker; when we finished those we moved on to the Psalms. All through those parts of the Old Testament the “right hand” kept coming up, which struck me with new meaning because in the Nyarafolo culture they completely understood its importance. For them, like the Israelites, the right hand is the “good” hand, the one you use for action and for courtesty; the left hand is your dirty hand, used for wiping your nose and other body parts. You only eat with your right hand, the clean hand, not your left hand. This was a challenge for my husband Glenn, who is left-handed, but he learned to comply!

So looking at the occurrences of “right hand” in the Scriptures, I was learning that this was the hand of blessing (Gen. 48:13-18). When it is God’s “right hand,” it is also his hand of power and action (Ex. 15:12,20; Deut. 33:2). Then came the Psalms!  These verses are particularly comforting and meaningful to me:

I constantly trust in the LORD; because he is at my right hand, I will not be upended. (Ps. 16:8 NET)

You give me your protective shield; your right hand supports me; your willingness to help enables me to prevail. (Ps. 18:35 NET)

My soul pursues you; your right hand upholds me. (Ps. 63:8 NET)

. . .because he stands at the right hand of the needy, to deliver him from those who threaten his life. (Ps. 109:31 NET)

The LORD is your protector; the LORD is the shade at your right hand. (Ps. 121:5 NET)

Even when I must walk in the midst of danger, you revive me. You oppose my angry enemies, and your right hand delivers me. (Ps. 138:7 NET)

If I were to fly away on the wings of the dawn, and settle down on the other side of the sea, ¹⁰ even there your hand would guide me, your right hand would grab hold of me. (Ps. 139:9-10 NET)

And then there is this verse in Psalm 73, that inspired the poem above:

But I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. (Ps. 73:23 NET)

I began contemplating what difference it means, that he constantly holds my right hand. That is my hand of action, the one I can use to bless others, meeting needs or giving encouragement. It is the hand symbolizing right action that corresponds with his commands. Of course if I do not follow my Master’s directions, I could use it to hurt others, to do what is wrong. But if I let him hold my right hand and I pay attention to the way he moves it, that will not happen.

I remember the days my dad used to walk with me, holding my hand and keeping me from stumbling, showing me the beauty of nature or cities wherever we were. I remember holding my kids’ hands, keeping them safe so that they would not run out into a street or stumble. That is what God does for us when we are securely attached to him, and therefore we let his love fill us and give us guidance and strength.

That is what Paul was reminding his “son” Timothy about when he wrote to him, urging him to hold tightly to his faith and to courageously share the Good News with others:

For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. (2 Tim. 1:7 NIV)

When we remain attached to God, letting his Spirit fill us and direct us, we then have the power and strength that we need to accomplish whatever he wants us to do. It may be learning a brand new skill, like installing electricity (as in the photo above). It may be passing on what we’ve learned to others through words or by example. And Paul underlines that the Spirit fills us with his love, love that “reaches out with grace” to spread his peace to others. When we are filled with that divine brand of love it does not stay cooped up inside us. It promotes action and overflows for the benefit of others. We are no longer timid, but can push away fear or pride, exercising self-discipline to follow his directions and do just what he wants! The self-discipline part often means that we resolve to follow his lead, not just our own desires.

Thinking back through the truths brought out in the Psalms the imagery of the right hand, when we let God’s right hand take the lead, he keeps us from being upended, he empowers us to “prevail” when faced with challenges beyond our normal strength to deal with. When situations heat up, he is our “shade,” our protection, our safe place. Because he loves his own people, he actually grabs hold of us, wherever we are.

In Psalm 73, the psalmist admits that he was so overwhelmed by the evil around him that he forgot that God was his protection. It wasn’t until he spent time with the Lord that he remembered the truth:

“. . .at the time he was deeply troubled by the prosperity of the wicked and the struggles of the innocent. But a turnaround came when he entered the sanctuary. The sanctuary of God could refer to the tabernacle or the temple, where God made his holy presence known among his people. In other words, the psalmist’s experience of the presence of God recalibrated his perspective. He now realized that present realities are not ultimate realities.”^[1]

So then the psalmist wrote:

²¹Yes, my spirit was bitter, and my insides felt sharp pain. ²² I was ignorant and lacked insight; I was as senseless as an animal before you. ²³ But I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. ²⁴ You guide me by your wise advice, and then you will lead me to a position of honor. ²⁵ Whom do I have in heaven but you? I desire no one but you on earth. ²⁶ My flesh and my heart may grow weak, but God always protects my heart and gives me stability. (Ps. 73:21-26 NET)

We each need to remember: he is always with us. He holds us! He directs our actions! He fills us with strength and with his love so that we can fulfill his purposes!

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^[1] Tremper Longman III, Psalms: An Introduction and Commentary, ed. David G. Firth, vol. 15–16, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Nottingham, England: Inter-Varsity Press, 2014), 276.