Living at the Right Hand of God! Part 2 of 2

by John Lowe
(Woodruff, S.C.)

The Psalmist stated in Psalm 16:11,"Thou will show me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” God’s right hand has provided joy, and according to Psalm 78:54 it has also provided prosperity. It says, “He brought them to the border of his holy land, to this land of hills he had won for them.” God’s strong right hand guided Israel for 40 years as they wandered through the wilderness. Then He brought them into the Promised Land, and there He enabled them to conquer their enemies.

But the most wonderful thing He ever did for mankind is to save those who will believe in His Son. That’s the gist of Psalm 17:7—“Show me your unfailing love in wonderful ways. You save with your strength those who seek refuge from their enemies.”

In His hand, there is justice and authority, and there’s something else; His hand is a hand of protection. Listen once more to verses 6 and 7: “I do not trust my bow; I do not count on my sword to save me. It is you who gives us victory over our enemies; it is you who humbles those who hate us.” God has given us protection from many things in our lives. Did you ever think about all the times God has protected you from some catastrophe? Most of the time we aren’t even aware of what God has done for us. But some things are obvious and God’s hand is clearly seen at work in our lives or the lives of others.

I’ll give you an example. Justus is my next to the youngest grandchild. Five days after he was born he got sick, so Mary, my daughter, took him back to the doctor and he was immediately admitted to the hospital. He had a low body temperature, and he was lethargic, and sometimes he quit breathing. They ran a bunch of tests to see what was causing his high temperature, but nothing could be concluded from the results. Finally one of the tests revealed that he had viral meningitis. They were able to treat it and Justice finally came home after 9 days on a ventilator and 12 days in the ICU. But while he was still in the hospital, one of the doctors told Mary that all they were doing was treating whatever symptom he was having at the time. They were at the end of their rope, and didn’t expect that Justice would live to leave the hospital. A lot of people prayed for him; I know some of you did, and I am convinced that the Lord Jesus healed him because of your prayers. I don’t know what your situation is; it may be painful, but God has not changed. He can still work wonders and glorify His name

At one time or another, we have all felt as if we have come to the end of our rope. Friends, Jesus lives at the end of your rope. Sometimes you need to come to the point that you realize that you can’t do it all by yourself. That’s when the Lord will help you.

Listen to verse 8 again: “O God, we give glory to you all day long and constantly praise your name.” Sometimes God takes away all those things that bring us enjoyment and encouragement to see whether we still cling to Him for Himself. Sometimes God allows defeat just to remind you that you must trust Him and Him alone.

Isaiah 41:13 states, "For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you." God’s people don’t need to be afraid. God is with us no matter what the circumstances might be, and He strengthens us and helps us no matter what the task is. He holds us close as He helps us. He will not forsake us because He made us and redeemed us, and we belong to Him. He was with us before we were born, and He has a purpose for us to fulfill in His world today. How can we be afraid when God’s words are guaranteed by His strong right hand and He is the Rock of our salvation?

In Psalm 110:1 David says, “…The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit in honor at my right hand until I humble your enemies, making them a footstool under your feet.”

And Psalm 18:35 declares; “You have given me the shield of your salvation. Your right hand supports me; your gentleness has made me great.”

And Psalm 17:7 says; “Show me your unfailing love in wonderful ways. You save with your strength those who seek refuge from their enemies.

There is protection in God’s strong right hand. Satan accused God of building a hedge around Job, and he said he couldn’t touch him, because God was always protecting him. God does the same thing for us, therefore, Satan can’t harm a Christian any more than God will allow. It’s not easy to always live righteously, even when things are going well. But when we’re having problems, it is even more difficult to live in the right way. Only the Lord God Himself, as He directs us through His Word, and by His Spirit, can keep us on the right path and lift our spirits.

His hand is all of these things that I have mentioned—justice, authority, provision, protection—but itis also a hand of promotion.

Verse 8 says, “We will always praise you and give thanks to you for ever.

The writer to the Hebrews had this to say: "The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.”

God gave promotion to His Son in three ways. He promoted Him by the resurrection, and His ascension, and by setting Him at His right hand. Now get this: Because Christ is at the right hand of God and I am in Christ Jesus, Colossians 3:1-4 tells us: “Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits at God’s right hand in the place of honor and power. Let heaven fill your thoughts. Do not think only about things down here on earth. For you died when Christ died, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your real life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.”

Think about it; we are going to share glory with Christ; all of His glory. In Christ, you have died to the old life and been raised to a new life, so make the new life the focus of your attention. Set your mind on it; seek to experience all that you have in Christ. Like Lazarus, you must get rid of the grave clothes that belong to the old life. And by faith, put off the old sins that bound you; Christ has set you free. God wants you to wear the grace clothes, not the grave clothes! If your focus is on heavenly things, you will obey God in things on earth, especially in your relationships with others.

I’ll end by asking you to think about what the Bible says about God’s right hand. We have seen that it gives justice, authority, provision, protection, and promotion. Let’s pray and thank God for all that we have because we are in Jesus.
Amen