Dear People Who Keep Company With God,
In the Scriptures we find the right hand of God mentioned many times. His right hand symbolizes His power and authority. “Your right hand, O LORD, was majestic in power. Your right hand, O LORD, shattered the enemy. (Ex. 15:6) Examples of God’s right hand are seen in the healing, deliverance and miraculous ministry in the New Testament.
The left hand of God is not mentioned very much in the Scripture. By its nature it is more indirect, subtle and suggestive. Left-handed power is more paradoxical. The God of peace will soon crush Satan under our feet (Rom. 16:20) is an example. God appears more apt to choose the foolish and the weak of the world to shame the “wise” and “strong” is left-handed (1 Cor. 1:27).
Right handed power is always more impressive, but the kingdom works daily in our lives in a more indirect and subtle left-handed way (Matt. 13:33). The first beatitude captures this, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matt. 5:3).
All through the Bible God uses both of His hands. Jesus is Lamb and Lion. He is compassionate with sinners, and hard on the Pharisees. The One who was silent before His accusers was overturning tables just days before (Matt. 21:12-13). The key for us is to learn which hand He is emphasizing in the moment. A helpful illustration is the first time Jesus sent out the 12 for ministry in Luke 9:1-4.
Jesus imparted spiritual authority and power to them. He also commissioned them to preach the kingdom of God and heal to demonstrate their preaching. Spiritually they were powerhouses. That is right hand.
Here is the paradox, Jesus sends them as spiritual powerhouses, but He also sends them powerless to provide or take care of themselves. This is hard to swallow, but the disciples were sent with nothing, empty pockets and wallets, just the clothes on their backs. That is left hand.
Jesus was not establishing some type of protocol for all future workers to not take care of their personal needs while doing His work. He was giving the secret to accessing the authority and power He has invested into all His people. God works through powerlessness and humility.
Jesus is the greatest example of this. He came into the world and embraced weakness of man so the power of the Holy Spirit could work in and through Him and He expects the same from us.
Jesus told Paul, “Power is perfected in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9). That sounds so profound, but the outworking is anything but profound. Like Paul, it is a painful process to come into that reality.
I used to think if people saw me weak or needy they would ignore or reject me. The thing I thought was a liability is actually an asset. The power to change lives, deliver the demonized, heal the sick and declare the kingdom of heaven most often comes hidden in fragileness, weakness and in some need.
The truth is we want to appear strong and have it all together. We think our message of the kingdom must match an idealistic life that has no problems, weakness, fragileness or needs. That is not the way the kingdom of heaven works.
We have the treasure in an earthen vessel so the excellency of the power is not us, but Him (2 Cor. 4:7). The problem is earthen vessels are inherently fragile, weak and in need of care. That is humanness from cradle to grave.
Many Blessings, BW