He's Got the Whole World in His Hands

A friend of mine gave me a ring of wooden beads. He has a set of these beads that have helped him in prayer and meditation, so he gave me a set as well.

Beads have been used by Christians of many faith traditions for centuries as an aid to prayer and confession. Rosary beads began in the Roman Catholic tradition but are certainly not the exclusive tools of Catholics. In the Catholic tradition the beads are prompts for specific prayers that are prayed in a specific sequence.  Millions of Christians benefit from this simple aid in meditation.

There are twenty-two beads on my string. I tried to  assign a specific person to a specific bead, but since I have no way to label them, I have no way to remember them. I  do, however, know the first six, three on each side of the apex.  I use those beads to pray for each of these persons by name. After that I handle each bead and pray for different people and events. As I work around the string, the beads progressively represent a wider and wider audience until by the end I'm praying for the world.

This  morning as I prayed for the world, I thought, "I've got the whole world in my hands" and I began to hum, "He's got the whole world in His Hands." My thoughts continued to flow. "I used to believe that",I thought, "I so want to believe that. But it's hard for me to believe that".  I guess I believe it in a general sense that He created the world, set it among the planets and stars and is still watching it spin.  But as I look at world events and how cruel human beings are to each other, as I see how events unfold in a random, helter-skelter way, as I consider that God is either not seeing any of that or He chooses not to intervene, I can't help but wonder if He's really  got the whole world in His hands.These considerations are  troubling to this man who sang this song as a child with deep a conviction of its literal meaning.

They say that the President of the United States of America is the most powerful person in the world. If that's so and if God also holds the whole world in His hand, then are we to believe that the president's opinions and actions are firmly in God's control? Do we have no choice but to believe that those actions are the will of  God?  If that's so, is God someone that we can honor,  love and trust with our very lives and the lives of those we love?

"He's got the tiny little baby in His hands. He's got the tiny baby in His hands. He's got the tiny little baby in His hands. He's got the whole world in His hands."  I spend every Sunday morning in the NICU of a local hospital. I have no words to describe how I feel when I'm holding, feeding and loving those babies.  It's my church. The ambient noise of the unit--babies crying, machines beeping, nurses talking-- provides the music.  The babies provide the sermon. And I provide the offering.  But there is a price to pay for the love that I gladly give away. I ask the assigned nurse to tell me what's going on with each child because I want to know.  A few of those  stories are quite wonderful as you would think a baby's story would be. But many of those stories are heartbreaking. I want so badly to bring them home with me, to raise them in an atmosphere of warmth and love. I want to make sure they grow up with every opportunity to thrive. Yesterday morning I  kiddingly asked the nurse if I could take my baby home for a weekend.  The nurse was not kidding with her response. They protect those babies with their lives.   They protect those babies' lives with their care. "No, you can't take her home for the weekend. She stays here".

"He's got  you and me brother in His hands. He's got you and me sister in His hands. He's got everybody in His hands. He's got the whole world in His hands." You've seen the same photographs of the faces of refugee children that I have.  The fate of these children and their families is now hanging in the balance. That balance is the judiciary system of the United States. The decisions that these judges make in the coming days will impact these families for the rest of their lives. The decisions could easily cost them their lives.  "I hope to God He's watching. I hope to God He knows.  I hope to God He cares.  I wish to God He's got the whole world in His hands".

When my friend gave me this string of beads, I doubt he meant for me to use them to try to work out the world's problems.  I'm sure he meant for them to bring me much comfort and joy. Yesterday as  I prayed for the little girl I was holding in the NICU, I wondered if what I was doing made any difference to her, especially since she was asleep for most of our experience.  Then the "still small voice" said, "All you can do is what I do.  Just love her now for the little while you're with her. That can make all the difference in the world. And never forget. While you're rocking her and loving her, you've got her whole world in your hands."