Look! No Hands!

As is often the case in my life, there is a part of a song that is stuck on repeat inside my head. These words have been unrelenting in my life recently, coming to me at all different times and in different situations. It is a simple song and yet the meaning is simply profound.

 I lean not on my own understanding,

My life is in the hands of the maker of heaven

 

I Give it all to you God,

Trusting that you'll make something beautiful out of me

 

I will climb this mountain

With my hands wide open

I will climb this mountain

With my hands wide open

 

There is nothing I hold on to

There is nothing I hold on to

There is nothing I hold on to

There is nothing I hold on to

That is it, that is the entire song --- I told you that it was simple. But its simplicity does not lessen its importance, rather I find that it magnifies the message of this song.  For a moment I want to you imagine a picture with me.

You stand at the base of the cliff with the climber who will soon begin their ascent. Your job is to use the camera you hold to document every moment of the climb as you are securely hoisted up the cliff face in the harness. As you enjoy your leisurely ride up the sheer cliff, the climber will have to use every muscle and every part of their brain to navigate the climb with only their hands, feet, and ropes. Slowly but surely the climber begins to scale the cliff; they are selective as to where to put their hands and feet every time they move. Every move is deliberate and calculated, the climber is in total control.

Can you see it? Do you have the picture?

Now, I want you to imagine that the climber has no ropes, no help, no net or harness to aid them if they fall. Not just that, but also as they climb, they are not using their hands, fingers, or fingertips to grab onto rocks and handholds. Instead they are climbing with their palms and fingers flat against the unyielding rock.

It doesn't make sense nor is it humanly possibly to climb without grabbing ahold of something firm. And yet, this song shows us a perfect picture of what trusting God is.

I will climb this mountain

With my hands wide open

 

There is nothing I hold on to

That when we trust God completely we don't have to search for the handholds or be connected by a series of ropes or have plan B, C, D, et al in case plan A doesn't work out. Instead, we simply have to open our hands and with our palms pressed flush against the cliff face, we will be able to climb with success.

This is a hard task because we humans like to be in control of our decisions and our lives. To give up the handhold means to give up the control of where we are going and to take up the risk that we may fall and be hurt.  We have to acknowledge that we are not in control.  The control belongs solely to God, for He sees the big picture and is threading together millions of strings at once to make the story of our life and the story of the lives around us. When we try to retain control, our sight is limited, we only can see one thread and truly only one small section of that thread.

I think that in going forward in this life, I will strive to day in and day out climb with my hands wide open holding onto nothing in or of this world. I will strive to trust God and relinquish all control to Him. I trust Him explicitly.