“I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.”
Psalm 32:8 (KJV)
There is something both amusing and heartbreaking about watching a newborn discover his own hands.
Recently, I watched a baby struggle with something so simple. He had his pacifier exactly where he wanted it, but his little hands had other plans. As he moved his arms around, his hand bumped the pacifier. Somehow, he managed to grab it and pull it right out of his own mouth. And of course, the hysterical crying followed.
There was something almost comical about watching him cry over a problem his own little hands had created. He didn't understand that he had been the one who removed it, and he certainly didn't know how to put it back. He simply knew that something he wanted was no longer where it belonged, unaware that the very hands he was learning to control had gotten in the way.
As I watched, I thought about how often we do something similar in our walk with God.
Sometimes we pray for God to move, and then we get in the way of what He is doing. We ask Him for patience, but we become frustrated when He places us in situations that require us to practice it. We ask Him to strengthen our faith, but we become uncomfortable when He leads us into situations where we have to trust Him. We ask Him to change us, but resist the very process through which He is changing us.
The beautiful thing is that God doesn't look at us with irritation because we haven't figured everything out yet. He knows we are learning to surrender. He knows obedience does not always come naturally. He knows we will only understand some things as we grow.
Psalm 32:8 gives us this beautiful promise: “I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.” God is not simply watching us struggle from a distance. He is willing to teach us. His instruction can come through Scripture, correction, revealing circumstances, or the gentle conviction of the Holy Spirit, reminding us that as we surrender to Him, He can transform our hearts and change our ways.
There may be something in your life right now that has you frustrated. Before assuming that someone else is responsible, perhaps ask, “Lord, is there something my own hands are doing that I have not yet recognized?” Maybe it is a habit, a decision, or fear disguised as wisdom. Maybe it is the need to control an outcome God has asked you to surrender.
We do not have to blame ourselves for everything that goes wrong. But when God lovingly reveals that we have been getting in our own way, we can respond by opening our hands and allowing Him to teach us. After all, a baby learns to control his hands through guidance, correction, and time. Perhaps our walk with God is similar. We are learning what to hold, what to release, and when to be still.
Call to Action
So today, take a moment to examine your own hands. What might you be holding onto, trying to control, resisting, or unintentionally getting in the way of? Bring it honestly before God and ask Him to show you what you cannot see. Then be willing to release what He asks you to release and trust Him to teach you what to do next.
You may discover that the thing you have been crying to God about isn’t something He needs to fix. It may be something He is patiently teaching you to let go of.
