Establish the Work of Our Hands

In my Bible class last Sunday we got to talking about wisdom, the practical application of Biblical teaching to daily life, something that very few possess. We talked about how important that is for pastors who guide and nourish the flocks put under them. Some clergy seemingly have a vast store of knowledge, but when it comes to putting it to wise and practical use they bomb out. 

That leads me to a psalm in which Moses teaches us all to pray for wisdom. He writes, "So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom" (Psalm 90:12).

He writes this prayer against a sober background that speaks of our human limitations. We're 'gonna' die, all of us, he says. Oh, we may make it to seventy and maybe even eighty years, but who can deny that those years have been filled with hard work and troubles? Ask any of us septuagenarians about how fast those years have gone by. We'll tell you that Moses has it right. They are like a flash flood, last night's dream or grass that withers away in one day's heat. 

All this can get one into some really sour moods. And no little fits of depression and anxiety, especially when you start looking at your failures to do God's will and keep his commandments. Pretty soon you start thinking—rightly, Moses adds—that we're all under judgment and God's wrath. 

So . . . here comes the prayer for wisdom: "LORD, have pity on your servants! Before the dark night of death descends, while I can still see the light of the morning, satisfy my deep longing for your steadfast love. I want to sing and rejoice. I long to be happy and not so filled with anguish and despair. I have both physical and mental disabilities. I have seen evil all around. Now, LORD, please, I pray, give me wisdom to see and trust in your work and see your glory, your glorious power and favor."

And at once that prayer is heard and answered in this Holy Week. We have but to kneel before the ONE hanging upon Calvary's cross and hear Him cry, "It is finished!" He has completed the work of salvation. Our sins are forgiven. Put your trust in Him. In that faith, move confidently back to your work today and rejoice in doing it in His name. 

Last Sunday I used a little story to speak about our work, "the work of our hands" as Moses writes about it. It is about a statue of the Christ that miraculously escaped destruction during the bombing of Strassburg, Germany in WW II. When the parishioners went back to assess the damage they discovered that the Christ statue's outstretched arms had both hands knocked off by a falling beam. Other than that the statue was unscathed.

A similar statue in Soweto, South Africa

A sculptor offered to restore the hands, but the congregation's leaders decided to leave the statue as it is. "After all," they said, "we are Christ's hands in this world. So let us be reminded of this each time we gather to worship." 

So we are and so we conclude with Moses' prayer: "Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes establish the work of our hands!" (Psalm 90:17).