Why Do I Have to Go Through This? A 5-Day Plan to Commit Our Lowest to His HighestSýnishorn

DAY ONE:

One of my high school track coaches used to always say “palms up” when he was describing how we should live our lives. He said that if your palms are up toward the sky, you can receive more blessings, but what is in your hand is also available to be taken away if it needs to be. We are fine with the “palms up” mentality when God is blessing us, but as soon as we feel the slightest fear of something being taken away, we close our fists and no longer trust God.

We can look at Abraham in the Bible as a great example of how to live “palms up.” Genesis 22 states:

“God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here am I.” He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” So, Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac"(Gen. 22:1–4).

God had promised that He would give Abraham and his wife Sarah a son even though they had waited years and had no children. Imagine believing God for something for that long, and as soon as you get it, He says, “Give it back to Me.” Our initial selfish reaction is to say, “No, mine.” However, as soon as God asked Abraham to sacrifice, Scripture says, he went “early in the morning” (Gen. 22:3). He did as God said right away. When Abraham was about to sacrifice his son, God sent the Angel of the Lord, who told him to stop. The Angel said, “Because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand is on the seashore. And in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice" (Gen. 22:16–18).

When we live life palms up, we can let go and let God. We can see Him use our lowest moments for His Highest Glory because we trusted and obeyed. In what ways do you need to live more palms up this week?