Palm of His Hand

As I laid on the bed, my head resting down by her feet, I listened as my daughter talked. Amusing innocent chatter filled the air between us as the moments before bedtime whittled away. The conversation took an odd turn when my child began to ask me questions regarding her salvation. It felt like a heavy blow to my heart when she asked what she would have to do in order for Jesus not to love her anymore.

She shared that she knew she was in the palm of His hand, but was curious to what could happen in her life that would cause her to fall from protection. I had to answer her inquiries with raw honesty. I told my child that I simply did not know the answer. And I prayed. I prayed that nothing would ever cause her to walk away from His precious presence.

As I ruminated over our conversation, I realized that my child’s questions came from a place deep within her soul. She was curious to understand grace and seeking from me affirmation that her life was indeed resting in the palm of His hand.

I believe that the fourth barrier we come up against in the giving and receiving of grace is just that: affirmation. We all desire affirmation for it seems to be deeply ingrained in our souls to seek it from somewhere… or someone. We all have various roles in our lives and need to experience affirmation within them. We often seek affirmation through:

Our spouses – to know that we are loved and respected
Our children – to feel that we are needed and honoured
Our colleagues in the workplace – to be praised for being worthy of the work, the position or title
Our church – to be seen as valued with a serving and Christ-like heart and mind
Our friends – that we are successful and achieving the ideals of every other position in our lives

We know that the desire to be affirmed is so deeply rooted within us, but why do we struggle to understand and accept healthy affirmation in our lives? Perhaps we must first look at the idea of ambition. Whatever the task, goal, or desire, we are ambitious people. Ambition itself is defined as an intense drive for success or power, as well as a desire to achieve honour, wealth, or even fame.

To be ambitious, in the worldly sense, is essentially to be determined to have more than your neighbour. We easily make judgements on the lives of others, are curious to what numbers are etched upon their bank statement, and often think “we should” because “they can”. We put people upon pedestals, stuff our garages with everything but a car, and buy books that teach us how to be an overnight success. But in God’s Word, the apostle Paul urges us to adapt a very different view of the ambitious life:

1 Thessalonians 4:11, “and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you”

The Greek word for ambition is philotim, which means “to esteem as an honour.” Being ambitious, in and of itself, is not wrong, it is what we esteem or honour that can causes us such great emotional distress. When we esteem and honour the wrong things in life, finding happiness becomes an impossible dream. There is nothing sustaining within it and the emotion of happiness is fleeting at best.

The Bible teaches that we should be ambitious, yet the objective is to be accepted by Christ, not by the world. We must stand firm upon God’s truths that we are accepted, cherished, and greatly loved by His Son Jesus Christ. It was Christ that hung on a splintered dirty cross for us. It was Christ that bled in the burning sun for us. It was Christ that took His last breath with our names etched upon His heart. So, it is Christ that must affirm us in every area and role in this life that is fleeting for there is no other palm in which we rest.

Father, may we seek our affirmation of being a faithful servant through Jesus… and only Jesus. When the world urges us to look better, have more, and achieve greater success, we know that nothing the world can offer us is greater than fulfilling your purposes within us. In Jesus name, Amen.

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