What are you holding on to?
The word open has been running through my mind lately, which is interesting as there aren’t a ton of occurrences in the Bible that use our English definition in the way we’d think of the term. I started to think of how this word makes it into our vocabulary and into so many songs, but began to question is it in the Bible?
As I write this in a local coffee shop, I sit across from an antique store that has enticing window displays and small town appeal. In bright red there’s a sign that says open… how convenient? In the coffee shop where I sit, in a half hour or so they will turn their sign that says open around to say closed, because they don’t want to serve anymore customers or people to come in at the last minute. Have you ever walked up to a store hoping it was open? My friend and I did this past weekend when we wanted to return to the consignment store where we spent way too much money the day before so we could find even more deals. We pulled up and started seeing hints it may not be open today– the darkened window display, no signs of movement or life. The doors were locked and the invitation to come in revoked. In this particular instance it was probably for the best, since we had already bought more than enough and put a dent in our bank accounts. It’s like when you want to go to Chick-fil-la and realize it’s Sunday… cue Tim Hawkin’s parody. But really, I think about the disappointment that comes when I’m greeted by a closed sign instead of an open one, at a place I really wanted to go. The anticipation slowly dissipates. I started to wonder if this is how God feels when he goes to fill us but we greet him with closed hands, eyes and ears. We’ve been in the dark a little too long. We have the AC up because we don’t want anyone to stay too long… you know the place. The good thing is Jesus is a gentleman. He’s already there waiting for us to be open… like he was waiting for the woman at the well and the woman with the jars, he’s waiting to fill us with a well that will allow us to thirst no more. He already has an open door for us, in fact He is the door (Revelation 3:8).
One definition of open says “ready to be used or ready to provide a service.” That reminds me of another term we see time and time again, “Here am I.” Are we open to being used by God? The other day I had been saying, Lord, I’m open to whatever you want to do in these different areas of my life. I’ve prayed similar prayers before and didn’t think much of it. Next thing I know I’m listening to Sadie Robertson’s podcast and they start talking about a song called “Open” and the prayer that inspired it. This was what it said:
“Lord, I’m open and there’s nothing in my life that you can’t touch or change or have. I’m holding nothing back God and I trust that your ways are best.”
I’m pretty sure Abraham
took that walk with such
an open heart and
hands we can’t even
comprehend. He was
open to giving all he
loved, the thing that
was most important to
him to God.
That was so convicting, because how many of us have said or even sang those words but not meant it. See, being open is in the Bible, but we have to do some reading between the lines. Another word that’s VERY present in the Bible is vessel. This is defined as “a hollow container, especially one used to hold liquid, such as a bowl or cask, in Biblical use it means a person, especially regarded as holding or embodying a particular quality.” (2 Timothy 2:21) Upon more pondering and studying I began to realize, the word open may only be in the Bible so many times, but when we think of it as a concept, or even more accurately, a verb it is ever so present.
In some sermons and books I’ve been retaining lately I can’t help but make the connection to some prominent stories in the Bible and this action of opening our hands. A story I have always loved but had somewhat of a bittersweet connection with, is Abraham obeying God in Genesis 22 by taking Isaac up the mountain to sacrifice Him, per God’s commands. Though I already knew, as a song I love makes this parallel, I was recently reminded of how amazingly this story in the Old Testament parallels the crucifixion coming in the new testament by Taya on Annie F. Down’s podcast.. That old song states “I just wanted you to know exactly how it feels to see the son you love walk up a lonely hill… to lose the very thing that you loved the best.” So I just picture Abraham telling Isaac they are going on a walk to worship God with sacrifice, literally carrying the wood in His hands. And what happens at the top of the mountain is quite possibly the most beautiful representation of sacrifice. He lays his son down on the altar… meaning he would’ve had to open his hands letting go of the weight of the wood, and then letting go of his son in a much harder release. He laid down his own desire and love, and opened his hands in obedience and then picked up what God wanted him to. As he raised the knife, surely in confusion and agony, God– in His true and merciful character stopped Him. And guess what Abraham said in verse 11 as he literally stopped the action of raising his hand in response to the angel– “Here I am”. What if we could say that with such true conviction and sincerity as Abraham did? Sometimes God may give the very thing you gave up and placed in His hands back to you, He just wants to see that you are all in, even in the moments of obedience that serve more as practice. And then it just might be even better than before.
Another story I heard in a Steven Furtick sermon recently was about a similar act of obedience when Moses was seeking God for signs to show the people. God asked Moses, “What do you have in your hands?” So He opened His hands and laid down the rod that he held and God turned it to a serpent which was a display of His power and realness. The rod continues to be a vital instrument throughout the rest of Exodus and the journey of the children of Israel to the promised land. See when we lay something down, truly open our hands then God will multiply it.
A song I love called “Nothing I Hold Onto” that’s a simple melody and offering of ourselves to God’s plans has a line that says “I will climb this mountain with my hands wide open”. That’s kind of an oxymoron of sorts, right? I really love this line and it’s been my prayer many times, so I skimmed my brain and went to search if this phrase is in the Bible. While it’s not word for word, that same story came to my remembrance. Going back to when God told Abraham to take Isaac to the place he previously told him to go and build an altar, where he was to sacrifice his only son… I’m pretty sure Abraham took that walk with such an open heart and hands we can’t even comprehend. He was open to giving all he loved, the thing that was most important to him to God. It’s still hard to picture, but I’m starting to see what climbing a mountain with your hands wide open might look like. Jesus later would take the same walk, not long after he prayed. “Not my will, but yours be done.”
So I’ll ask you the question I’m asking myself. Am I open? Open to what God wants to do in my life, business, relationships, and ministry? Am I emptying and sanctifying this vessel to receive what God wants me to? Not only to receive, but to obey?
Lord, I lift my heart with my hands. I’m open–open to whatever you want to do, whenever, and wherever you want to use me. I’m open to your plans and your will. I’m open on a weekday, and on Sunday, in the morning and the night. Maybe being open is also giving you what’s in my hands and asking that you multiply it, instead of trying to do it on my own. I’m sorry I’ve closed off certain areas to you. This is me turning the light on and turning the sign around so my life reads “Come In, I’m Open.”
