Living Open Handed

By: Jenifer Metzger

If you were to ask me what God has been teaching me lately, I would quickly say that He is teaching me to live open handed. For several years I have been clinching tightly to something I wanted. It was mine and I didn't want to let go of it. I tried to control the situation and outcome.

Then in early May, God spoke clearly to my heart when He said, "Open your hands." God wasn't going to pry my hands open; He wanted me to release control and open my hands to Him. When I finally did, I saw His blessings pour out and things fall into place in such a way there was no denying God's hand.

When we look at the story of Hannah in 1 Samuel, Hannah desperately wanted a child. She likely felt inadequate as a wife because she could not give her husband a child. She goes to God asking for a son and God hears her prayers and gives her Samuel.

But the story doesn't stop there. I feel like if I were in Hannah's shoes, facing infertility and now blessed with a child, I would have held so tightly, not wanting to let go of my baby. Hannah, however, trusted God and lived opened handed, she gave her child to God. She literally left him in the Temple!

When we trust God enough to hold onto things with open hands, we glorify Him. If we live with hands closed tightly, we are not available to receive from God. God often tries to give us something for our good, but we refuse His gift with closed hands.

If, like me, you are holding onto something tightly, whether you are afraid to let go or struggle with wanting to control the outcome, open your hands. Release control and embrace faith. Know that God's plans for you are far better than anything you could ever begin to imagine and when you live open handed, His blessings will flow.

“For I know the plans I have for you”

—this is the Lord’s declaration—“plans

for your well-being, not for disaster,

to give you a future and a hope.

Jeremiah 29:11 CSB

Discussion:
1. Are you holding onto something tightly?
2. How have you seen God's blessing from living with open hands?