I don’t miss much about the baby stage of raising children. Diapers, crying, interrupted sleep… I can do without it. One thing I miss about my boys getting older is the simple gesture they used to do when they were younger. It appears to be a universal concept that just about every child makes at some point. It is reflexive, so I believe it is a shared experience.
Back when they were sleeping in cribs, there were those moments when they were displeased with something, hungry, tired, or soiled- the list is pretty short, but for them, it is their entire existence. After hearing their cries, I would walk into their room, and as soon as they saw me, their arms would shoot up in a plea for comfort. They wanted to be rescued from the troublesome situation. They wanted me to come in, lift them out of the crib, and hold them in my arms.
As they have grown older, they don’t do this as often. Partially because it is harder to lift them, they are also more self-reliant and don’t need me as much anymore. It doesn’t mean I don’t want to hold them, but they have grown older, and they don’t need me like they once thought they did. Amanda and I used to take care of every need or desire they had; now, they can find that comfort or fulfillment from other sources.
Throughout the Bible, we read of circumstances where the people of God have reached the end of their abilities and finally cry out to God. I find the words used to describe this situation similar to what my children used to do for me.
Lamentations 3:55-58 – “I called on your name, O LORD, from the depths of the pit; 56 you heard my plea, ‘Do not close your ear to my cry for help!’ 57 You came near when I called on you; you said, ‘Do not fear!’ 58 “You have taken up my cause, O Lord; you have redeemed my life.”
We recognize that we are in the pit of despair. We have nowhere left to turn; therefore, we cry out to the One who can lift us out of the pit—the One who hears us and takes up our cause, telling us not to fear. Like a father coming to comfort his children, God attends to our troubles.
As we grasp this, it becomes an emblematic gesture to lift our hands to the One who comes to save us. Like when our children lift their arms to be carried through life’s challenges, we all lift our arms to God, asking Him to carry us, feed us, and cleanse us.
Lamentations 2:18-19 – “Their heart cried to the Lord. O wall of the daughter of Zion, let tears stream down like a torrent day and night! Give yourself no rest, your eyes no respite! 19 “Arise, cry out in the night, at the beginning of the night watches! Pour out your heart like water before the presence of the Lord! Lift your hands to him for the lives of your children, who faint for hunger at the head of every street.”
Perhaps it is bizarre for our culture, but I think we can realize that lifting our hands is the appropriate position of those who are calling to God for help—to reach up to the One who can lift us higher, not appealing to our own ability but to the One who can save us.
1 Timothy 2:8 – “I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling”
Paul’s words to Timothy may seem out of place, but he is instructing all of us in the direction of our prayers. We lift our hands to God, not against our church family. When we are stuck in the muck and mire of life, we often lash out at those around us. This is the wrong attitude to have. The focus should be on God, who can lift us up, not devour each other, which will tear us down. We are to reach higher, not squabble in the pit. It presents the choice: I can either dwell in the pit concerned with everyone around me or get out of the pit by having my Hands Lifted High.