I find comfort in Isaiah 49:16 because the major prophet reminds me that God engraved my name in the palms of His hands.

Charash is the Hebrew word for engrave and according to the Strong’s concordance it means to to cut in, engrave, plow, and devise.

All of these terms requires exerting some kind of physical labor. I believe we all know that God spoke everything into existence by his word, but the Bible said in Genesis 2:7, “Then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.”

Did you catch that? God chose to create (construct) man’s existence with His hands which in my opinion powerfully amplifies our subject passage as stated above.

Beloved of God, not only is Your name engraved on the palm of the Lord’s hands, but He holds your hand and leads you through each day and each activity you perform with your hands.

Personally, to me this sometimes mean, I will hold the hand of someone else. I may hold the hand of my beautiful wife as a way of showing her my love and demonstrating the oneness between us. I may hold the hands of children not only to show affection but also as a way to keep them secure and away from harm. I may hold the hand of an elderly person as a way to steady him or her so they will not fall.

I’ve learn that the reason I hold another person’s hand is one of the same reasons why God hold our hands!

Before I close, I want to echo the words of David found in Psalm 63:8, “I cling to you; your right hand upholds me. I cling to you, your strong right hands holds me securely.”

I am often a little long winded with my devotional and yes, I could continue with my semantics about hands, but I know a picture can be worth a thousand words, so take a good look at the imagine I created and attached to this devotional. What do you see? I know that I see strength, power and conversely, I equally see comfort and safety.

I pray that you too find comfort in knowing that not only has God engraved your name on the palms of His hands, but He is also holding you in the palms of His hands.