What’s in Your Hand?

“I can’t do it,” wailed four-year-old Eva. “It’s too hard.” My granddaughter looked at me with streaming eyes. 

“You haven’t even tried, and you’re already giving up. What’s that in your hand?”

She looked down. “A bat.”

“You have everything in your hand that you need. You just have to try.”

She scuffed her shoes on the ground. “But I can’t hit it like Rhodes can.”

I knelt and looked into her eyes. “You don’t have to hit like Rhodes. You only have to hit like Eva.”

Those words encouraged her to step up and swing at the ball resting on the tee. And she hit it. Like Eva. Joy lit her face.

What’s in God’s Hands? 

I stopped to consider what I held in my hands. What had God given me to share or use that I held onto out of fear or uncertainty? Did I hesitate out of angst because I compared myself with others? And by holding back, who was I serving?

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.

~Colossians 3:23 NIV 

Like my granddaughter, I sometimes allow myself to be defeated by self-doubt without ever trying. My focus is on the enormity of the task, forgetting who my strength is. When God spoke with Moses in the desert, Moses’ response was self-doubt: “Who am I that I should go?” (Exodus 3:11a NIV). God had already told Moses that He would be with him, yet Moses made it about himself and his strength. How often have I relied on my strength instead of surrendering and believing in God? 

Hitting the ball like Rhodes was Eva’s standard. She placed unrealistic expectations on herself when all she needed to do was her best—as herself, not her brother. Do I also fail to attempt tasks based on my estimation of how someone else would perform?

Then the Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?”

~Exodus 4:2 NIV 

Like Eva, I need to consider what God has given me, the bat in my hand, and step up. I’ll never hit the ball if I refuse to try.

Reflect on some tasks that require remembering God’s provision is already in your hand.

Dear God, help me remember that Your strength and provision enable me to do what You have asked. In Jesus’ name, amen. 

 

Genre: Non-fiction

Copyright 2024: What’s in Your Hand?: Sharon Davis: All Rights Reserved