"All day long I have stretched out my hands
to a disobedient and contrary people."
Isaiah 65:2
She stood next to his bed in a hospital room and held the hand of the man whom she had loved for more than fifty years. Her husband was dying. The room was quiet, though the bed was surrounded by family members and a nurse. Suddenly, she felt his hand become lifeless. The moment that she had dreaded finally arrived. She looked down at her hand in his hand for the last time. There was a flashback in her mind to the scene of joining hands with him as they stood in front of a minister to say their wedding vows. A few tears quietly trickled down from her eyes, then she said quietly, "I will let go of your hand, but you will always be in my heart."
God loves us with an everlasting love. We are in His heart. We see the heart of God displayed through His Son on a cross. Greater love has no man than this. With a heart of love, His hands reach out to us. Isaiah the prophet pictured God reaching out His hands to a people who broke His covenant and spurned His love. He patiently waited for them with His hands extended, but to no avail. They were contrary and bent on disobedience. Judgment came, not because God did not love them, but because they stubbornly refused His love.
God's hands are extended to all people. He desires to join hands with all who will receive Him. Notice that His hands are not just open, but they are stretched out. His hands were stretched out on a cross for sinners. His love is proven beyond question. By faith we reach out to His hands waiting for us. When we join hands with God in a covenant relationship (Hebrews 13:20-21), He never lets go of our hands. We need not fear, because even death cannot separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:38-39).
God, we receive Your out stretched hands.
