One summer during my teenage years, my good friend Larry decided to become left-handed.

I don’t know what got in to him, but whenever we would practice basketball, he practiced left-handed. Maybe he thought he could end up being ambidextrous. All he ended up being was cut from the basketball team.

Being left-handed sometimes looks inviting. When I batted against future major leaguer Don Gullett in high school, I was convinced that lefties were unhittable. At least he was. He pitched a perfect game against my team.

I have a naturally right-handed nephew who bats left-handed because my brother taught him to bat that way since he was little. His power-hitting high school career from the first-base side verified that decision.

So, I have nothing against left-handedness. But there is something intriguing about Isaiah 41:10. It says of God, “I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

The reference to God’s right hand doesn’t mean what we think of when we discuss which hand we pitch with, but it has significance. In Exodus 15:6, we see that God’s right hand is “majestic in power.” In Psalm 20:6, His right hand has “saving power.” And in Psalm 89:13, we see that God’s right hand is “exalted.”

These examples of metonymy, the use of a part to speak of the whole, don’t mean that right-handedness is better. Instead, it reminds us of some of God’s remarkable attributes.

Righteous, majestic. He saves. He is exalted.

What an awesome God we serve! How often do we praise Him for His hand of blessing?