“My soul is continually in Your hands, and I have not forgotten Your law” (Psalm 119:109).

This lovely verse was cited in the fourteenth piece of the great psalm, which we pray with in the midnight prayers.

This verse reveals to us many deep spiritual notions, few of which are listed:

1- The place of our true rest is in the hands of our lord; He is the one who opened up His arms for us on the cross and called onto us: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28).

2- Our soul is the most prized treasure we were given; when we place it in the hands of God, it will be safely preserved as He is the one capable of guarding us from all threats. No one can ever snatch His sheep from His hands (John 10:28).

3- When we rush to (take refuge in) God and surrender our souls in His hands, He’ll wipe our tears and heal our wounds, in His arms we enjoy all peace, rest, and safety, all warms and kindness…

4- God’s hand is strong (mighty) and capable in its (her) work, and whoever submits himself to Him, God’s hand is capable of transforming them to a finer (better) state, purify them from impurities and faults, and reforming them to an image resembling that of Christ in purity and holiness.

5- When we give up our souls in the hands of the Lord, we hand Him the responsibility to guide our life and arrange all our plans.  We know that God has a great plan for our salvation, and He has a wonderful and sacred plan for the life of each one of us who truthfully surrender Him the guidance of his/her life, and submit his/her will to Him.  We are also confident that He is the Pantocrator (Almighty), and it’s His hands that direct all things in this universe, and when we yield our souls in His hands, He will coordinate all aspects of our life for our own good.

6- Submitting our souls to the hands of our Lord ends our worries and anxiety, and thus; we are not troubled or anxious about the future, or carry the burden of tomorrow.  On the contrary, our souls will be freed and rest from all these stresses, and our main focus, per the biblical verse, becomes “to read the Lord commandments and to feed on His life-giving words, and to be fulfilled with praising His name continuously”.

7- In the holy liturgy, we describe the hands of the Lord and say: “He took bread into His holy hands, which are without spot or blemish,, blessed and life-giving”.  Thus, when we lie in the holy hands of God, His hands purify and sanctify us, whereas whoever submits to dirty hands, he will be defiled with it.  Also, the life-giving hands of our Lord is capable of granting us ever-lasting life so we don’t ever perish (John 10:28), resurrecting hope in our hearts, good conscious in our souls, reviving in our depth the love of God and the zeal to serve Him and spread His kingdom, and bring back (restore) to life inside us what was ruined or killed by sin, and renew our life. 

How wonderful is it for our souls to be always in the hands of God…..!