Day 6 — Into Your Hands

“Then Jesus shouted, ‘Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands!’” — Luke 23:46

You have recognized the offense, and you have seen what happens when hurt is allowed to take root. You have chosen forgiveness and you have released the debt. Now there is one more step.

Entrust it to the Father.

Near the end of His time on the cross, Jesus cried out: “Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands!” Jesus placed Himself completely into the hands of His Father. Those words speak of surrender, trust and rest.

There comes a point when we have done what God has asked us to do, and we must place what remains into His hands. We can’t control what happens next and we can’t change another person’s heart. We can’t rewrite what happened. We can’t see what God sees or know what He will do but we can trust Him. There is freedom in being able to say: “Father, this is no longer mine to carry. I place it into Your hands.”

Sometimes we do not realize how much energy it takes to continue carrying something. We carry the person in our thoughts. We carry what happened in our emotions. We carry questions we cannot answer. We carry concern about what happens next. We carry the weight of trying to make sense of something that may never completely make sense. Eventually, what we carry begins carrying us.

Jesus invites us to open our hands. Not because what happened was insignificant and not because every question has been answered, but because there are things only God can hold. The Father is not asking you to solve everything before you surrender it. He is simply asking you to trust Him with what you cannot solve.

Surrender requires trust. When we place something into God’s hands, we are acknowledging that His hands are better than ours. He sees what we cannot see. He knows what we don’t know. He understands every part of the story. He knows your heart and He knows the other person’s heart. He knows what happened. He knows what healing still needs to take place, and He knows how to lead you forward. You don’t need to know what God will do with what you give Him. You only need to know Who you are giving it to. Your Father is trustworthy. You can place the person into His hands or the situation into His hands. You can place the unanswered questions into His hands. You can place your healing into His hands. You can place your future into His hands, and you can place yourself there too. “Father, I am in Your hands.”

There is a difference between holding something and surrendering it. Imagine standing before your Father with your hands tightly closed. Inside them is everything you have been carrying. Now imagine opening them. That is the posture of surrender. Open hands say: “I do not have to control this anymore.” Open hands say: “I do not have to carry this anymore.” Open hands say: “Father, I trust You.”

You are not saying what happened did not matter. You are saying: “It matters, but I trust You with it.”

Today, we are going to allow our physical posture to express what our hearts are choosing before God. The action itself does not create surrender. There is no power in simply moving our hands. The power is in Jesus but sometimes our bodies can participate in the decision our hearts are making.

Find a private place where you can be alone with God. Close your eyes for a moment and place your hand over your heart. Think about the person or situation you have been carrying throughout this journey. Maybe there is more than one. Maybe you have also been carrying yourself—your past, your regrets, or the person you wish you had been. Do not rehearse the story. You have already acknowledged what happened. Simply recognize what you have been carrying. Maybe it is the person, their words, their actions, their rejection or betrayal. Maybe it is their memory, the questions, the pain or the weight of what happened. You have carried it long enough. Now, before the Father, you are going to take what you have been carrying in your heart and place it into your hands.

Hold both of your hands out in front of you, palms facing upward. As an act of surrender, imagine taking the person and everything connected to what happened out of the place where you have been carrying it and placing it in your open hands. You may want to say the person’s name aloud. “Father, I take __________ out of the place where I have been carrying them.” Then allow the Holy Spirit to show you anything else you are still carrying. As each thing comes to mind, picture yourself placing it into your open hands. The hurt. The questions.

The memories. The disappointment. The grief. The weight. You don’t need to analyze any of it and you don’t need to fix any of it. Simply place it into your hands. Your hands are open now. You are preparing to give it to the Father.

If part of what you have been carrying is yourself, include yourself in this surrender. Place your hand over your heart. Then hold your hands open before God. Place your past there. Your regrets, your failures, your healing, maybe it’s the things you can’t go back and change. Maybe it is your future. And say: “Father, I place myself into Your hands too.” You do not have to carry yourself either. You belong to Him.

Now comes the surrender with the person, the situation, and everything you have been carrying symbolically resting in your open hands. Slowly lift your hands toward the Father. Pray: “Father, I give __________ to You.” “I place them into Your hands.” “I give You what happened.” “I give You what I do not understand.” “I give You what I cannot change.” “I give You what happens next.” “I give You my healing.” “I give You my future.” “I give You myself.” “I trust You.” Then open your hands completely before God. And say: “Father, it is in Your hands.” Pause. Do not rush this moment. Let yourself experience what it means not to be the one holding it anymore. Your Father has it.

Keep your hands open. You have surrendered what you were carrying. Now allow yourself to receive. Ask the Father: “What do You want to place in the space where I have been carrying this?” Then be still. Maybe it is peace.

Maybe it is healing. Maybe it is compassion. Maybe it is rest. Maybe it is freedom. Maybe it is simply the awareness that you no longer must carry the weight. Remain with Him for a moment. Your hands are open. Your heart is open and what you have surrendered is in the Father’s hands. Pray: “Father, my hands are open. Fill the places I have emptied with Your presence and Your peace.”

You do not need to pick back up what you have placed into the Father's hands. You may still feel emotion. Memories may still come. Healing may continue. But the debt has been released. When the temptation comes to take it back, remind yourself: I already placed this into my Father's hands.