How would our lives look if we realized that we are extravagantly loved? No matter the reality of our earthly family dynamic, we are held and known by our Creator.

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My dad is my hero. I was looking at a picture of my dad holding my daughter — her tiny fingers were resting in his strong hands. His hands that play guitar as he worships and point to the crowd when he preaches. Hands that embrace me and are laid on my head when I need prayer and encouragement. My dad has good hands.  

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I’m sure we’ve all heard the phrase “Oh, you’re in good hands.” Maybe you heard it when you shared what doctor you visit, or maybe when you’re asked what mechanic fixes your car. It’s a phrase that is never spoken with question or with doubt — it carries confidence and assurance.

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As we turn to scripture, God reveals himself to us with language we can understand so we can discover different aspects of his character. He tells us who he is; he is a rock, a good father, the shepherd, an all-consuming fire. In Isaiah 64:8, we see God described as a potter, saying “Yet you, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.”

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He is the potter, and we are the clay resting in his good hands. What better hands to be in than those of the One who formed it all?

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There are two things we must do if want to confidently say that we are held in good hands.

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1. Surrender to His Good Hands

Isaiah says that we are the clay and God is the potter; we are the work of his hands. The potter — the one who carries the design, idea, blueprint, and ability — begins to shape and mold the clay that he holds. The clay doesn’t do any work to shape itself; its only responsibility is to surrender to the craftsmanship of the potter’s hands.

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The same is true for us. As we daily surrender our hearts and allow the gentle hands of the Father to press in on us, he begins to transform us, shaping us into our original design.

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There’s a difference between being touched by God and being formed by God. What is a touch? That our eyes would meet his for a second? A warm embrace for a moment that leaves us the same as before his touch? We don’t just need a touch from God, we need to be formed by his hands. The touch is an allowance for him to shape our motivations, desires, and dreams. It’s an invitation to be pressed.

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Surrender isn’t giving up, it’s giving in. Understand that as we press in, God will respond. Pressing often feels like pressure, but friends, not all pressure is bad. We need the right blood pressure to stay conscious, the right pressure in our ears to hear, the right pressure in our eyes to see. Diamonds are formed under pressure.

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What if the pressure we feel is not a weapon coming against us? What if it’s the hand of God that needs to prosper in order to shape us, forming us into a weapon against the enemy? Pressure is weight, and there is a weightiness to God’s presence. We are built for the pressure if we invite the pressing of God’s hands.

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2. Stay in His Good Hands

It’s one thing to surrender — it’s another to stay.

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We often think that to be changed from the inside out, we have to change our lives. We go after a new job, new scene, new relationship, new church. We settle for a quick external change when the real change we long for is internal.

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The real change happens when we stay in God’s good hands. After all, this isn’t the only time he’s shaped us. Jeremiah 1:5 says, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” From seed to fruition in our mother’s womb, God formed us. We didn’t have to jump from one womb to another for God to begin multiplying our cells. In one place, he shaped our body systems, strengthened our bones, and numbered the hairs on our head. He fastened our organs and grew our limbs. Before we were born, he appointed us for a calling that we are uniquely designed to accomplish with him. Surrender takes faith, but staying takes faithfulness.

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No matter our circumstances, when we surrender to the pressing and stay planted, we can be confident that we are resting in the good hands of our perfect Father.