Saturday, December 16, 2017

Surrender your hands to the Lord

While praying in the Spirit the other day, I saw a vision of someone holding a large, empty, oblong-shaped plate with his hands. Then, I saw another person using a ladle to scoop rice (putting more and more rice) onto the large, empty, oblong-shaped plate, until it's full.

I asked the Lord for the interpretation, and that's when I heard these words: "Surrender your hands to the Lord, and let Him anoint, touch, bless, and prosper what are in your hands, as you prepare yourself for the many supernatural manifestations, events, and healings in the year ahead!"

Indeed, people of God, your hands are in effect the extension of God's hands. Let His hands be with your hands as you get ready for a year of many supernatural manifestations, events, and healings in the year 2018!

The year 2018 is a year for you to believe 'all that you touch shall prosper', whatever your vocation or profession may be. There is every reason for you to look ahead with much anticipation and hope! The key is to allow His hands and flow with His hands, instead of going against His hands.

In Genesis 24:1-4, the Scripture says, 'Now Abraham was old, well advanced in age; and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things. So Abraham said to the oldest servant of his house, who ruled over all that he had, "Please, put your hand under my thigh, and I will make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell; but you shall go to my country and to my family, and take a wife for my son Isaac."'

See the word 'hand' here?

In the modern culture that we live in today, taking oath of office may involve 'raising the right hand', 'placing the hand over the heart', or 'placing the hand on the Bible'. But in ancient Hebrew culture, one way of taking oath involved 'putting one's hand under someone's thigh'. Rabbi Ibn Ezra, a Jewish philosopher and biblical commentator, interpreted 'under the thigh' as 'submission to authority'. For someone to allow his hand to be sat on is a sign of submission to authority. Here, 'Abraham' speaks of 'the Lord, our Master', whereas the 'servant' speaks of 'you and I, who serve the Lord, our Master'.

This servant then went on his way to Mesopotamia, to the city of Nahor in obedience to his master's instructions. In Genesis 24:12-14, the Scripture says, 'Then the servant said, "O Lord God of my master Abraham, please give me success this day, and show kindness to my master Abraham. Behold, here I stand by the well of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. Now let it be that the young woman to whom I say, 'Please let down your pitcher that I may drink,' and she says, 'Drink, and I will also give your camels a drink' - let her be the one You have appointed for Your servant Isaac. And by this I will know that You have shown kindness to my master."'

The expression 'give me success' here is the word 'qarah' in Hebrew, which means 'to bring about, to light upon'. In other words, the servant was looking to the Lord to bring about a divine appointment for him. To his understanding, nothing would happen 'by accident', but instead, it's the hand of the Lord that would bring about a divine appointment!

True enough, it happened that even before he had finished speaking, behold, a young, beautiful woman went down to the well, filled her pitcher, and came up. And it happened that she's Rebekah, whom the servant would soon find out her grand-uncle was Abraham! Just as his master Abraham had wanted - someone from his family and in his country to be Isaac's wife! The rest, my friend, is history.

People of God, just as this servant 'put his hand under his master's thigh' as a sign of submission to the master, you can surrender your hands to the Lord, your Master today, and you too shall find good success in all that He has called you to be (and do), as you look ahead to a great new year 2018. Amen!