The Open Hand

Why softness isn’t weakness—it’s the strength to stay unshaken in Jesus Christ

For years I thought softness meant weakness.



Be tougher, care less, stay guarded.

But that wasn’t strength—it was armor that only made me brittle.

There’s freedom in not having all the answers. Joy in refusing to harden. With a clenched fist, you can’t receive anything. And if you reverse-engineer it, that’s exactly what the enemy wants: for you to stay so uptight, so self-protective, that you miss what God is giving in the moment.

Street smarts and cynicism look like control, but they rob you of the ability to stay open. Remaining caring, hopeful, optimistic—it’s not being behind. It’s being alive.

Scripture reminds us: “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” (James 4:15). That’s not jargon. It’s a mindset. Living in the ambience of the actual moment rather than racing into next week’s anxieties or next year’s plans.

Anything that rushes you isn’t for you. But whatever positions you to truly absorb the nutrients of the moment—that’s God shaping you.

So here’s the question: are you living with a clenched fist, or an open hand?

If this resonated, share it with someone still guarding themselves too tightly.

Focus Point: Keep your hand open, stay soft, stay strong… and have hope.