The Soft Hands of God

Just the other day my wife told me I had rough hands. It seems they have dried out more than usual this winter and they seemed rough to her touch. As I looked more closely I could tell there were some very rough spots on them. Her recommendation of Ahava hand lotion made very good sense!

That whole episode got me to thinking. You can tell a lot about people by their hands. You can get a clue to a person’s self image by their handshake. The confident person has a solid grip. And the person who lacks confidence barely grips your hand at all. The nervous or hyper person often reveals it by their shaking hands, gnawed fingernails or constantly moving hands. You can see tell a calm and confident person by the absence of these things. Their hands are steady. You can gain an insight into the kind of work that a person does by their hands. A person who does physical and strenuous labor has hands that have calluses. They are rough and have become so because of the constant stress their hands are put through. Others who do delicate work have hands that are extremely sensitive to touch.

I know it seems like I am pretty far afield, but I need to give you an image that you can relate to this morning. In order to understand God we must sometimes think in terms of opposites. That’s the case this morning. We need to see that God is beyond us and independent of us, but at the same time He has made Himself near. He is strong yet tender. He is powerful but yet has soft hands. Here’s the image Isaiah brings to us:

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance? Who has measured the Spirit of the LORD, or what man shows him his counsel? Whom did he consult, and who made him understand? Who taught him the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding? Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as the dust on the scales; behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust. Lebanon would not suffice for fuel, nor are its beasts enough for a burnt offering. All the nations are as nothing before him, they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness. (Isaiah 40:12-17; 27-31 ESV).

In order to describe God’s unique character I need to give you two theological words this morning. The first word is "transcendence". Transcendence means literally, "to climb across." It is defined as "exceeding the usual limits." When we speak of the transcendence of God we are talking about that sense in which God is above and beyond us. He is higher than the world. He has absolute power over the world. The world has no power over Him. Transcendence describes God in His consuming majesty, His exalted loftiness. He is an infinite cut above everything else. This is the description Isaiah uses in the first part of today’s passage. However, there is a second word I want to give you today. It is the word "immanent". The dictionary defines immanence as: "existing in, and extending into, all parts of the created world." When we say that God is immanent we are affirming that God is close to us. Though God is great and far superior and different from us, He is also personal. He condescends (or lowers Himself) to be close to us and to be known by us.

This is the astounding thing about the Christian faith. We affirm that God is Creator, He is supreme, He is above us and yet, "He walks with me and talks with me, and tells me that I am His own." Let me say it another way: God has soft hands AND strong arms! No wonder the prophet says, "But those who wait on the LORD will find new strength. They will fly high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.” Let Him hold you in His hands today!