The Creation of His Hands

Do you know God's longing for you?

Lorelai and I were sitting on the couch this afternoon watching the new toy story, which is really well done by the way. Lorelai is a restless movie watcher as children should be. She changes position from time to time. At one point she was sitting on my lap absent mindedly sucking one of her thumbs and the other hand was matching mine finger tip to finger tip. Her sweet little hand measured opposed to my large one. It was one of those sweet moments of longing. One of those moments when I am so glad to be a father and to have this little creation of mine sitting in my lap.

Chapter 14 of Job brings forward Jobs despair of life, but not eternal life. He desires for this life to be over. Convinced God is the one bringing all of this trial and suffering on him, Job asks God to let him be hidden away in the grave. A tree might be cut down but if the rains come it can spring up shoots of new life. This is not so with man he lies in the grave. At first glimpse I though perhaps Job didn't believe in the resurrection, but the chapter goes on to point out he very clearly does. He asks God to lay him in the grave and forget about him until the time when all his sin is bound up in a bag and forgotten, when sin is done. Then Job says God will long for the creation of his hands.

Have you ever thought about this before? God longing for us? I got just a glimpse of that with Lorelai lying right there in my lap hand in hand. I can't imagine the longing God has for the creation of his hands being separated from them for all of these years. Given this I can also imagine the pain the heavenly Father is feeling as the creation of his hands, his child Job cries out for God not to think of him and to leave him in peace. And yet perhaps he sees Job reaching up his small hand trying to compare his infinitely small hand to the immense hand of the creator. Stretching out his small understanding to try and understand the plan God has in mind with all of this.

I think of the smallness of Lorelai's hand in mine and I think of the little bit of understanding I have compared to God's knowledge and infinite wisdom in knowing me and the plan for my life. God's knowledge of the plan of history and when the time will come for him to raise up the dry stump of humanity once again restoring us to life.

My prayer today it that I might reach up to my father in heaven and he would have a tender moment of longing for me as I had for Lorelai today sitting on my lap. My you stretch out your hand today and find the heart of a creator longing for the creation of his hands.