6. God's Hand

6. God's Hand

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THERE IS but one hand in the universe. It is God's hand. Whenever you have felt that your
hand was empty, it has been because you have believed yourself something separate from God. Have you not felt, at times, great desire to give to others something that they needed or wanted, yet have not been able so to give. Have you not said many times within yourself, "Oh, if I only had money, how I would relieve anxiety and distress! If it were only in my power, how quickly would I give a lucrative position to this one needing work, freedom to that one wanting release from material bondage," and so forth? Have you not often said, "if I could only afford it, I would so gladly give my time and service to others with no thought of return"?

Whence, suppose you, comes this desire to give? Is it from the mortal of you? Nay, nay. it is the voice of the Giver of all good gifts crying out through you. It is God's desire to give through you. Cannot He afford to give whenever and wherever He will, and not be made poorer, but richer, thereby? Your hand is God's hand. My hand is God's hand. Our Father reaches out through these, His only hands, to give His gifts. We have nothing to do with the supply. Our part is to pass out the good

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gift freely and without ceasing. This we can do only by making a complete consecration (so far as our consciousness goes) of our hands, our entire being, to the service of God, the All-Good. When we have given anything to others we no longer consider it our own, but recognize it as belonging to them. So this conscious consecration of our hands to God, helps us to recognize them as God's hands in which is (no longer "shall be") the fullness of all things.

When first the full recognition of there being but one hand was given to a certain woman, it was so real that for hours whenever she looked at her right hand she seemed unable to close it, so running over full of all good things did it seem. She said to herself: "Then if this be true, I have, in my hand, health to give the sick, joy to give the mourning, freedom to give those in bondage, money to give those needing it; it only needs that I keep the hand open for all good gifts to flow out." To all who came to her that day in need of anything she said mentally: "Here is just what you desire; take it and rejoice. All my gifts are in my hand to give; it is God's hand."

And the result of that day's work almost startled her, with such marvelous swiftness did the external manifestations of the heart's desire come to everyone to whom she gave the word. One aged man,

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who for five years had been in external bondage and exile in a foreign land, held there by the machinations of another, and in which case no external law had been of avail to free, was set into perfect liberty, with the most complete vindication of character and consequent public congratulations and rejoicings, by the word of liberty spoken for him through this woman that day. Recognizing her hand as God's hand, she only said, "Then in this hand are that man's freedom papers," and mentally extending to him her hand she said, "Here is your freedom. It is God's gift; wake up and take it; get up and go forth; you are free." Then she committed the whole matter to Him who invariably establishes the word spoken in faith, and He brought to pass the physical out-picturing of freedom.

"Thou openest thy hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing." Should you like to be able to do this? Then keep the hand open. Refuse to be hindered by fear of poverty, fear of want, fear that you will not be appreciated or justly dealt with. Go right on giving aid to all who need anything. "Only say the word" of giving. It is God's word spoken through your lips, and has He not said, "My word shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please"?

We cannot afford to withhold from giving our

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time, our intellect, our love, our money, to him who needs, for the law is that withholding makes poorer. "There is that scattereth, and increaseth yet more, and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth only to want," said Solomon.

The supply is inexhaustible. Its outflow can be limited only by demand. Nothing can hinder the hand that is consciously recognized as God's hand from being refilled, except, as was the case when the widow's oil was multiplied through Elisha, "there is not a vessel more." Let not the seeming emptiness of your hand at times stagger your faith for a moment. It is just as full when you do not see it as when you do. Keep right on recognizing it as God's right hand in which are all good gifts now; thus you will prove Him who said: "Prove me now herewith, saith Jehovah of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it."

God is surely calling us to "come up higher." To all those who are earnestly seeking Truth for Truth's sake, and not for the leaves and fishes, nor that they may be able to "give a sign" to those seeking signs, He is saying loudly: "Be not therefore anxious, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

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for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first his kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." "Freely ye received, freely give." "Love your enemies, and do them good, and lend, never despairing: and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be sons of the Most High." God is forever giving, giving, giving, with no thought of return. Love always thinks of giving, never of receiving. God's giving is the spontaneous outflow of perfect love. The higher we rise in recognition and consequent manifestation of the Divine, the more surely we think always of the giving, not of what we shall receive.

We know now that money, houses, lands, and all material things can be made to come to us by our holding them in our thoughts as ours, but that is not the highest that God has in store for us. "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him." What? Self? No, but "that love him" -- that love good more than self. Jesus said: "Every one that hath left houses, . . . or lands, for my name's sake shall receive a hundredfold." They that have forsaken, they that have forsaken self, they that dare let their hands be forever open to their brothers, doing good and lending,

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hoping for nothing again, to them is the promise of a hundredfold even in this life.
God has called us to be stewards of His. He has chosen us as vessels to carry good to others, and it is only while carrying to others that we ourselves can be filled. The law is: "Give, and it shall be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over." Give without thought of return.

"But," says one, "am I to give my time, my money, my best thoughts, to others, and not require of them something in return? It is not just." Give as God gives. He knows no mine and thine. He says: "All things that are mine are thine."

Look only to God for supply. If anything is returned to you through the one to whom you give, render thanks for it. If nothing visible is returned, give thanks just the same, knowing that no man can stand between you and the inexhaustible supply; that it is he that withholds who is impoverished thereby, not he from whom anything is withheld.

"Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee. If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up, if thou put away unrighteousness far from thy tents. And lay thou thy treasure in the dust, and the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks; and the Almighty will be thy treasure.

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When we have learned that God is our supply, and that from Him comes all our help, we shall no longer care whether "pay" is rendered for our services or not. We shall simply know that all things are ours now, and out of the fullness of love we shall give freely. God's hand is sure. Your hand is God's hand now, today. It is full now. Give out of it mentally to all who call on you, whatever they need. "Trust also in him, and he will bring it to pass"