You open Your hand
And satisfy the desire of every living thing.
The LORD is righteous in all His ways,Gracious in all His works.The LORD is near to all who call upon Him,
To all who call upon Him in truth.
He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him;He also will hear their cry and save them. The LORD preserves all who love Him,But all the wicked He will destroy.
My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD, And all flesh shall bless His holy name Forever and ever.
Psalm 146:16-21

God Your fist unfurls as the right hand of righteousness beckons with Your welcoming call. Help us to heed Your call. As we heed, we are satisfied in every desire. We are changed. Your promise is to be near to all who call upon Your name. Hear our call now!

Your hand is far and wide and Your touch is gentle yet firm. We welcome Your offer of righteousness and grace and we offer ourselves in return. For it is we who seek, and You who provide our protection from adversity.

You are righteous in all of Your ways. If we can turn toward Your beckoning way, we may know that you impart Your righteousness to us each and every day and for this we are thankful. You are God and we are Your flock of who can gather in Your hand and feel safe. Lord help us to know that You permeate every corner of our life and are always there.

It is us who wrestle with the reins and stubbornly try to lead. If Your hand will lead all, where shall we lead ourselves? What more will we do in vain? Help us to succumb and be disciples. Help us to nurture young believers and convey the same protection we receive from Your hand. We have the strength to help pull a lagging or a falling child, turning away, to come forth to you. You can do it Yourself, God. However, we are Your entrusted children, with a commission to bring others to Your hand of perfect righteousness. We love you and we can show others our love for You and You will preserve us.

All that is turned away shall surely pass away and all that is turned toward shall surely be preserved. We heed Your beckoning; we come to Your calling. We rest in Your hand that holds all creation. It is beyond our reasoning yet we speak of you Lord – we speak with all of the love and praise of the saved and the preserved! For you are God and we are of Your flock. All flesh shall sing a new song of praise to you as we, ourselves, are renewed. We are a new creation in Jesus Christ and for that all is good. All is protected and all is safe. Your right hand unfurls to provide us a place of rest. If only others could see what we see. Should not that be the song of our existence? You are so wonderful, God, and we need to praise you loudly and boldly. So, when we reach out our hand, we reach with the hand of a confused soul who wanders in and out of darkness. Our touch meets with Your hand of protection and love. Hold tight this grasp yet gently bring along a child lost, in despair, so sure that the reins wrestled from you God initially, are back in Your reign and are leading us on the good path. How wrong we were.

We praise Your God – all flesh – and we seek a place in Your hand of righteousness, gentleness, and the perfect love of the One who saves us with a drop of His blood.

Rick Stassi

Rewritten from Sept 2011