Psalm 145:16 (NRSV)
Read Psalm 145:16 on biblegateway.com
Verse 16You open your hand, satisfying the desire of every living thing.
Devotion
Our hands tell a story. I think of my grandfather's hands. He was a rancher. I can still picture his hands folded in prayer at the head of the table. Large hands—calloused and worn, dirt under his fingernails from working in the fields, brown from the sun and arthritic from age. His hands spoke a thousand words. He had toiled. He had sacrificed to provide for others.
Yes, hands are an amazing thing! Psalm 145:16 says, "You open your hand, satisfying the desire of every living thing." The hands of God are open hands—always reaching, always giving.
God's hands provide us with the wonders of creation and sustain us each day with the breath of life. God's hands reach out to touch us through the compassion of others. Jesus' nailed, scarred hands remind us that he gave all he had to open heaven's door for us.
In our gospel for this week, Jesus took the boy's lunch and fed thousands. Our God is indeed a God with open hands. Thanks be to God!
Prayer
Lord God, thank you for opening your hands and reaching out to us with love and grace. Amen.