Right Hand Man
Jesus is the physical presence of God, His hand of blessing upon your life.
“Joseph said to his father, “They are my sons, whom God has given me here.” He said, “Please bring them to me, and I will bless them.” When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him. He held up his father’s hand, to remove it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. His father refused, and said, “I know, my son, I know. He also will become a people, and he also will be great. However, his younger brother will be greater than he, and his offspring will become a multitude of nations...He blessed them that day"
Genesis 48:9, 17, 19-20
In ancient cultures the blessing was very important. It was an anointing and declaration of who would be the head of the family, hold the keys to the family's wealth, and make the decisions. The blessing would always have been on the oldest, but Jacob flips the script and blesses the younger one. This blessing would have changed everything, but that is what the blessing we receive is meant to do in our own lives.
In the kingdom of God, the hand of God depends less on birth order and more on who has a born again heart to serve the Lord. How has God blessed your life? How is your hand of blessing on others?
“We have thought about your loving kindness, God, in the middle of your temple. As is your name, God, so is your praise to the ends of the earth. Your right hand is full of righteousness. For this God is our God forever and ever. He will be our guide even to death.”
Psalms 48:9-10, 14
Have you ever wondered why our hands are called right and left? The right hand in ancient cultures was symbolic of strength, honor, and favor. The person who sat at the right hand of the King was trusted and had authority. God's favor is on those who do the next right thing or choose right living according to His commandments. He is our guide to a life of favor, authority, strength, and honor. Where is He trying to direct your life towards the blessed life?
“I was asleep, but my heart was awake. It is the voice of my beloved who knocks: Open to me"
Song of Solomon 5:2
Our actions always originate from our hearts that is why Jesus always starts with your heart. He wants to awaken us to His voice and He invites us to let Him. How is He knocking on your heart today? Where do you need to let Him in?
"I am he. I am the first. I am also the last. Yes, my hand has laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand has spread out the heavens. when I call to them, they stand up together. Yahweh, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, says: “I am Yahweh your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you by the way that you should go. Oh that you had listened to my commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river and your righteousness like the waves of the sea"
Isaiah 48:6-7, 12-13, 17-18, 22
When you consider the work of God's hands, who are we that God is mindful of us? Who are we that He so personally pursues each of us? His hands made where we live and made where we are going. Are you turning to God or from God today? As you turn to Him you will feel the deep peace that only He provides.
“Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. He ate nothing in those days. Afterward, when they were completed, he was hungry. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God...The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to heal the broken hearted, to proclaim release to the captives, recovering of sight to the blind, to deliver those who are crushed, and to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”
Luke 4:1-4, 7-8, 18-19, 22, 40-41
The enemy of your life wants to get you to question your identity. It is the first trick he tries to pull on Jesus, but Jesus does not have any of it. He knows who He is and He knows how it is God alone who loves Him perfectly. Jesus knew He had a calling and that God's hand was upon Him. Does it sound like a blessing to you to get the right to go work hard, preach good news, heal brokenness, and help the lost? It sounds hard and like a lot of work.
Jesus now sits at the right hand of God in heaven. He shows us that the right hand of God, the favor and blessing of God, are given so that we can do His will. We experience the blessing as we become the blessing to the world around us. The anointing that Joseph's son, Ephraim, received was so that he could then lead the people with justice, peace, and grace. It was not favor so that he could have a life of ease. The life of faith never is. What does God want from and for you as His right hand is upon your life? How does He want to help you walk with the authority, strength, and favor through the power of the Holy Spirit today?