Reflections on “You Hold My Right Hand!” October 29, 2024
Nevertheless, I am continually with You; You have taken hold of my right hand. With Your counsel, You will guide me, And afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven, but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth. My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. For, behold, those who are far from You will perish; You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful to You. But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord God my refuge,
That I may tell of all Your works. Psalm 73:23-28.
As I read these five words, I wondered about the Right Hand of God. And why it is so important? Ephesians 1:15-23. Indeed, God placed Jesus by His right hand, the place of honor. God, the Father, raised from the dead and seated Him beside Him at the right Hand in the heavenly places. Verse 22-23 says, And He put all things under His feet and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
This morning as I listened to scripture reading Psalm 118:24, This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118 ends…Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; for His steadfast love endures forever! Psalm 118:29.
How long will we endure? How long can we be good, or how long is our steadfast love?
You, whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called from its remotest parts, And said to you, ‘You are My servant, I have chosen you and not rejected you. ‘Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely, I will help you, Surely, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’ Isaiah 41:9-10.
Often, I refer to the brief passage at the end of Matthew 28. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20.
Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Colossians 3:12-16.
Do we doubt that Jesus is coming back? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:37-38.
Next to John 14, John 1 is my most reassuring scripture of the beginning. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. John 1:1-4.
Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth. My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Psalm 73: 25-26. Without God, we are without our Guide. Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4.
When I was in grade school and received my 5 cents allowance, I headed to the school store and bought penny candy. This was my one desire. I soon learned I gained many friends who wanted to share! Now I know this describes my desire then.
But for me, it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord my refuge, that I may tell of all your works. Psalm 73:28. He is my Guide.
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:37-39.
Even in James, we understand the reason for pain and suffering and learn to be steadfast, so we belong fully to God the Father through Jesus Christ.
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. James 1:2-4.