teach me your way, Lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name... psalm 86:11

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

living with open hands...


Oh the truth in this statement… although living in the reality of this truth just doesn’t come naturally for most. Losing something we value isn’t easy. We are a people who live with clenched fists, holding tightly to what we deem is ours, protecting what we think should be. We don’t easily let go.

Learning to live with open hands is counter-intuitive… but then again, isn’t most of our spiritual life? Our instincts say make a plan, take control- but Jesus says to be still and trust in the unknown. Everything in us screams to try harder and earn approval- but Jesus says his yoke is easy, his burden is light and his love is complete.

Living with open hands makes us vulnerable to losing things, letting good slip through our fingers… but it’s a heart that trusts in God’s goodness that is able to say, “It’s ok, a better blessing is coming to fill my hands again.” CS Lewis understood this, but I have to say, I have a hard time with this sometimes...

We read that every good and perfect gift is from above… and that the Lord wants to prosper us, not harm us… and that in all things He’s working for our good. Sometimes I fear, though, that claiming these promises for myself means I’m buying into a prosperity gospel that values health, wealth, and happiness above true communion with our Lord. I never want to be in a place of choosing the gift over the Giver of the gift.

I'm learning that in the context of these promises, we need to redefine blessing, favor, prosperity, gifts… shatter what our world has made them to mean, and see them through the lens of how God intends them. Blessings don’t always come easy. Sometimes the blessing is in the struggle, the loss, the season of waiting, the act of surrender. We live in an instant gratification society- we want something so we go get it or we make it happen. But when I look at my life, the most meaningful things that come to mind are the things where there has been tension of some sort, or things that have emerged only when I allowed God to have His way rather than trying to do things my way…

When I’ve chosen to live with open hands and a heart of trust. These are the times I’ve learned that when I lose one blessing, another is just around the corner.

11 comments:

  1. Love this today...because it speaks to my own spot on the journey right now. Thanks!! :)

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    1. I'm so glad it resonates with you too! Thanks for the encouragement! :)

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  2. Yes, Denise. Love it. Blessings are often not what we expect. My first son was born 8 weeks early. In retrospect, I am very thankful. It taught me so much about trusting God with my parenting. This post reminds me of the Laura Story song "Blessings." You are in an open-handed season right now. I pray that you are finding blessings in it!

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    1. Thanks Steph! I remember reading about your journey with your son- I can't imagine how difficult that must have been at the time... so glad that you are able to see the lesson of trust that emerged from that season though.

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  3. Denise, beautiful truth here! CS Lewis is oh-so wise, is he not? Grateful for this post.

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    1. He is indeed wise... him and Henri Nouwen are my fave quote guys- they say things in such a simple yet profound way. Love it! Thanks for stopping by! :)

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  4. Beautiful words and reflection on a wonderful quote. Thanks for posting!

    ~Samantha
    http://www.thepeanutsgang.com/2012/03/gathered-thoughts-party.html

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    1. Thanks Samantha! I love the quote you used too... and that you used photos to express it- so fitting! :)

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  5. I love your reflection of "Our instincts say make a plan, take control- but Jesus says to be still and trust in the unknown." This is so hard to do! And yet so much a part of each of our journeys! I'd love to have you join my blog hop :) with this very inspiring post.
    Paula at Welcoming Spirit
    http://bit.ly/GKY57d

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    1. Thanks Paula... and yes, it IS so hard to do! Thankful that God is so patient with me ;) I would love to join your blog hop- heading over there now!

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  6. Oh, this is good. I am still learning this, Denise. STill learning.

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