Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love so that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and prosper for us the work of our hands–O prosper the work of our hands. Psalm 90:14 and 17
During the years of my youth, it was necessary (or so I was told) for most in our family to learn to play the game of bridge in order to participate with friends and family. My Mama was in several bridge clubs, we always played bridge with our relatives on beach trips, and I was told it was good for your brain!!
Unfortunately for me, the game of bridge has changed a lot since I learned the basic rules and played. In our day, the rules were basic but functional. You must have twelve to fourteen points to open, sixteen to eighteen to open with a no trump bid, eighteen to twenty points to open with two of a suit, otherwise, you bid your longest and strongest suit, you don’t respond to your partner unless you can support their bid and have at least six to eight points or have opening points to change suits. Passing is always an option! The partners who win the bid, declare which suit will be trumps or whether it will be no trump!
The game has morphed into a much higher level of thinking and strategy these days. People play different conventions such as Stayman, Transfer, and Blackwood where you use a system to find out how many aces, kings, points, etc. your partner is holding. It’s all about trying to deduce what is in your partner’s hand and how the hands the two of you hold can blend to make a game. It’s a lot to learn for a novice like me, so I resort to the old theory of “bidding and playing” the hand I was dealt and hoping it works! Unlike my Daddy who used sign language to learn what was in his partner’s hand, the basic rules work for me.
When God called Moses, one of his first questions to him was, “What is that in your hand?” Moses was holding his shepherd’s staff which he used every day to tend and protect his sheep. Moses used it for one thing, but God had a different plan for the staff- a greater one. He had Moses use that staff to part the Red Sea and lead Israel into the Promised Land.
Just like Moses, sometimes God asks us the question, “What is that in your hand?” Is it strength, courage, honesty, leadership, love, hope, joy? What strength are we holding that we can use for others?
God doesn’t use conventions or trumps to help us find out what’s in our hand, but He does want us to use the talents, experiences, relationships, education, mind, and resources that He has given us to find our strengths that can be used for His service.
Martin Seligman talks about strengths, which are different for different folks, but he gives six categories in which most of us can find our own special strength. First, we should explore our own individual wisdom and knowledge. Things such as curiosity, love or learning, sound judgment and social intelligence. Think how many people could be influenced by sharing these strengths! We should count this as part of what’s in our hand.
Secondly, we should explore courage. This addition to strengths in our hand includes perseverance and integrity. Next, we need to evaluate humanity in our hand. The capacity for kindness, and the ability to show mercy is part of this strength.
Justice is the fourth strength that could make up our hand of strength. This includes the ability to bring about fairness and leadership. The fifth strength one could add to their hand is temperance. Qualities like self control, prudence, and humility are part of this strength.
Finally, transcendence where one possesses an appreciation for beauty, the expression of gratitude, the ability to hope, and the capacity for joy! We all have the capacity for each of these strengths, but the ones which resonate most with us individually make up the hand of signature strengths we have holding.
At this point, we can begin to understand our calling. We just celebrated Father’s Day and had the opportunity to celebrate the strengths that we see or saw in these hands of love and care. Thank you, Dads for using what’s in your hand to bless your children and families.
When we know what’s in our hand, God can use us to serve and glorify Him.
The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in Him; though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with His hand. Psalm 37:23-24