Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees. Hebrews 12:12
Do you know what the primacy factor is? It’s what you associate something with, based on the first time you saw or heard it. For example, we often remember the first time we ever heard a particular song, and compare that memory with each subsequent time we hear the song. Today’s text has a primacy factor for me… I can well remember the first time I heard anyone give ministry on it. The speaker was Lloyd Cain, who was only a teenager at the time, and the occasion was after the Breaking of Bread in the Oxford Gospel Hall, probably in 1963 or 1964. I never read this verse, or hear it quoted, without recalling Lloyd’s message that day. I can’t recall much of the message, though, other than that it was a call to encouragement.
Why do hands hang down? They can often be dropped at our sides in a sign of discouragement or weakness, which seems to be the sense in this portion. Life can be very exhausting and wilting to our souls, as the devil assails us with his lies and the world heaps its filth and toil about our feet. The joy of our salvation can get eroded at times, as life’s lemons roll our way. Hands that hang down are usually empty and temporarily idle. Discouragement robs a Christian of both joy and usefulness. God does not want our hands hanging.
Do we look like a clock at half past six? That’s not what a Christian should be like. Think of a hockey player who has just scored a goal; where are his hands? Straight over his head in exultation and celebration! That’s more like it! After all, Christians have much to celebrate and to be excited about. You will never be in hell! You have a home in Heaven! Your sins are gone! Jesus’ love is wonderful! God has recently saved souls! God has answered prayer! Oh, my, the list can go on and on! Lift up your hands in praise and delight at all you are and have in Him!
Fill your hands with acts of thankfulness to God, and you won’t have any problem with them hanging down. – Jim MacIntosh