We tend to think of God's hand in terms of rescue and deliverance such as in Moses' Song of Deliverance in Exodus 15:6: "Thy right hand, O LORD, hath dashed in pieces the enemy." However, many times God's hand is acting as the Potter or the Shepherd.
As the Shepherd, God's hand is directing and restraining us, causing us to lie down in green pastures so that He can restore our souls. As the Shepherd, He leads us in paths of righteousness for His sake. Even though the Shepherd loves the sheep, He guides and corrects through the staff, the Word of God.
As the Potter, God's hand is forming us into the vessel that He has ordained for us in His purpose. The Potter kneads the clay to remove the air pockets, spinning us and applying pressure to shape us, adding and taking away and then placing the vessel into the furnace to harden it for use. He chooses us in the furnace of affliction.
Let us learn to discern the hand of the Lord and His purpose and to "humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God that He may exalt us in due time" (I Peter 5:7). The hand of the Lord is for our good and His purpose. Let us learn to submit.
