This is a short personal reflection by Holly Furtick explaining why she lifts her hands in worship. She recounts a first experience at age ~15, observes others who worship differently, and describes multiple meanings for the gesture (acceptance, excitement, surrender, reaffirming sung words). She cites Psalm 141:2 and Psalm 100, and describes an emotional post-pandemic corporate worship gathering as an example of communal lifting of hands.
Chapters
I remember the first time I ever lifted my hands in worship. I was about 15 and I was in a revival meeting in Buchanan, Michigan. I remember being very moved and compelled to just have the desire to lift my hands. But I also felt very self conscious about how I looked or what others would think about me. Which is really funny because most of the people had their eyes closed. I wish I could remember what we were singing. I don't. But I remember slowly, very discreetly, opening up my palms and just barely lifting my hands. I was so nervous that my hands started to go numb. But it was a moment I never forgot. Can you worship God without lifting your hands? Of course you can. God is all about the intentions of your heart. I remember several years ago at our Valentine location, there was this man who seemed to be sitting sat near me or in front of me almost every week. And I would watch him during worship because he would keep his hands in his pockets the whole time. And I thought maybe he was angry or maybe he didn't like worship. And then one Sunday, I noticed him take his hand out of his pocket and wipe the tears that were streaming down his face. You never know the work that God is doing in someone's heart. And of course you don't have to lift your hands to worship God. But when we lift our hands, it's a way of reaffirming the words that we're singing. It's a full body expression of worship to our Savior. And sometimes what comes out of my mouth and what happens with my hands is what jump starts or restarts my heart and my mind. And then suddenly my fear and worry and anxieties are all released. At least momentarily. Because now I'm aware of the presence and the nearness of God. God did not just show up. He's always with us. I showed up and I centered all of my attention on him. Sometimes I simply turn my palms up like this. To me, this is a symbol of acceptance. It's an outward expression of my inward desire to accept everything that God has for my life. Even the things I don't understand. Even the things that I wish were different. It's a symbol of my openness to receive the love of God and the peace of God and the purpose of God for my life. Sometimes I lift my hands in excitement. Have you ever been so excited that you just threw up your hands and clapped and cheered? Maybe you were at a sports game or a graduation, or maybe it was your baby's first steps. Sometimes you get so excited that your entire body is Moved to express itself. Church can be this way, too. And sometimes the person leading worship on stage gets so excited that the person next to you gets excited. And then you feel the excitement and you just have to jump right in. Not long ago, we had a night of worship at Elevation. It was the first gathering that we had had since the limits on gatherings had been lifted from the pandemic. When I walked into that room, the energy was electric. It was almost tangible. And we were all lifting our hands because our excitement just could not be contained. We were together worshiping God again. What an amazing night that was. I had tears in my eyes because it felt so good to be in the house of the Lord with us others again. David said, I overflow with praise toward you. Sometimes my hands go up because they are simply an overflow of the excitement that's in my heart at that moment. And then sometimes my hands are up in surrender. You know, this is the international sign of surrender. And so when I make this gesture, my hands are up, maybe my head is bowed and my heart is surrendering to the will of God for my life. In Psalm 141:2 David prayed, Let my prayer be as the evening sacrifice that burns like fragrant incense, rising up as my offering to you as I lift up my hands in surrendered worship. Surprise. Surrender requires trust. And there have been so many times when I have come to church with a heavy heart. Have you ever been there? Maybe you were hurt or disappointed, frustrated, grieving. And sometimes my heart has been so heavy that I have barely been able to pray anything past a cry for help all week long. And if I'm really being honest, it was all I could do to get myself to church. I know I'm the pastor's wife, but maybe you've been there, too. And I don't know if you're like me and you've had moments where you barely made it to church. Or maybe you decided at the last minute to watch online and you heard the music playing and you saw others lifting their hands in worship and you joined in and you lifted your hands not because you felt all emotional, but because it was all you had in that moment. And something happens. It's happened to me more times than I can count. When I lift my hands, it takes the weight off of me and it places the glory on God. And right there in that moment, I realize what David tells us in Psalm 100, that the Lord our God is a good God. Hey, thanks for watching. I hope that that encouraged you today. Make sure that you subscribe so that you don't miss out on other videos like this. And I'll see you back here next time.
