Do you live your life with open hands?

The Psalmist writes:

The heavens are yours; the earth also is yours. The world and everything in it ​— ​you founded them.

Psalms 89:11 (CSB)

Do you live with the understanding that everything belongs to God? Ultimately, we own nothing. We are merely stewards of what God has given to us. He holds us accountable for how we steward our lives and the resources He grants us.

Sometimes we forget this truth. We seek to hold on to things. Rather than lifting our open hands to God in offering, we close our fists and try to keep our lives and possessions for ourselves.

One way we can know that we are genuine followers of Christ and have His Spirit indwelling us is our willingness to offer our lives and possessions freely to Him. Jesus calls His followers to lay down our lives for Him on a daily basis (Luke 9:23). He commands us to focus our love on Him and not on things (Matthew 6:33). God may call us, like the rich man, to sell all our possessions and give the proceeds to the poor (Luke 12:33).

Are we willing to hold our lives and possessions with such open hands?

In my devotional reading yesterday, I read:

Grace consists in the well managing of our estates while we have them, and in the willingness to part with them when God calls for them.

Jeremiah Burroughs

This quote reminds me that, while I need to be a good steward of my life and possessions, I must hold everything up to God with open hands as an offering to Him. I must hold nothing back.

Part of God’s grace in our lives as Christ followers is showing us, through the work of the Holy Spirit, areas or things in our lives we are holding back from Him. He prompts us to open our hands and release these things as an offering to the Lord.

What are you holding back from God?

Are you living your life with open hands?

Blessings!

(If you want to read more from Tim McKnight, click here.)