Stretch Out Your Hand

Published by christi on January 20, 2022

So, there was this guy… Jesus noticed him… a man with one hand that didn’t work right…so much so that it had shriveled up and was useless.  In a time and culture where almost everyone’s work was manual, to have only one functioning hand was a big loss. There were no power tools, no matches. This man’s family was certainly among the village’s poorer.  (There was a lot of other stuff going on around this incident, but my focus was drawn to this man who was only partially able to function.)

It might have been polio, or a stroke, or a childhood wound that damaged the nerve and atrophied the muscles. If you’ve ever had a broken finger or arm, or an injured shoulder, you know how difficult it is to even wash yourself properly. Picking up something larger than your hand that doesn’t have a handle, carrying a bowl of soup, climbing a ladder, giving a hug, or tying anything … none of these things go well.

Jesus noticed the man’s condition and, with tenderness in His voice, asked the man to do one thing with that useless hand:  “Stretch it out toward Me.”

As I heard these words, I began to wonder, “Do I have a withered hand? What part of me that You have created is currently non-functioning? Are You asking me to stretch it out?”

(Oh, I forgot to tell you that, as the man obeyed, his hand was restored to full function!)

I am still asking those questions. There are certainly areas of my life that have not been restored or resurrected from the dead. Is it His desire/command that I stretch out those shriveled capacities and receive His rejuvenation?

So far I have received some understanding, some nudging, some direction, and my desire is piqued. I feel Him drawing me toward wholeness in some areas of my heart that have been crushed by circumstances and shriveled by shame and fear. I do want Him to be the King in my heart — all of it, and for His righteousness to rule there instead of my woundedness. Only He knows (and is) the Way. That’s why I am

Following Jesus every day in the everyday,

Christi

P.S. I am not planning on leaving y’all hanging. I will let you know what happens next.