Servants Looking to the Hands of Their Master

Okay, so this is the coolest thing. I love blogs, b/c I learn so much from what other people learn! It's great to share "food" like this. I hope you enjoy what my friend Chris H. had to say about this verse. I want to learn to be attentive, receptive, and ready to move when the hand of the Lord even so much as flinches...read on, friends....



To You I lift up my eyes, O You who are enthroned in the heavens! Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, So our eyes look to the LORD our God, Until He is gracious to us. Psalm 123:1-2

I ran across these verses yesterday on my way to work. The illustration of the hand servant is a great parallel to how we should relate to God. Hand servants (or hand maids) were given special training in the art of serving meals. They established with their masters a system of very discrete hand signals so that the master could direct the service of the meals. This way the master could ensure the highest degree of hospitality. Servants would appear out of nowhere to fill wine just as it was running dry, or bring additional food for someone who was eating quickly. What was invisible to the guests was the process by which this happened. The hand servants were standing just outside the dining room; their eyes were fixed on the hands of the master. Then the servants would see the slightest twitch of the master's right thumb or a small straightening of the left index finger. Instantly the servants would swing into action, doing whatever the master had subtly ordered. No one at the table noticed, but the servants knew exactly what the master wanted. Likewise, our eyes should be so fixed on God that we notice His slightest move and then swing into action.