It can be frustrating when your ‘hands are tied’.
It can be frustrating when your “hands are tied.”
What Does “My Hands Are Tied” Really Mean?
‘My hands are tied’ is an idiom that means you are unable to act or behave in a certain way because something is constraining you.
There is no freedom.
‘I would love to raise your salary but my hands are tied.’
Have you ever had your hands tied? You are very limited in what you can and can’t do. You have been restrained by someone else. It is incredibly difficult, if not impossible, to bind your own hands. It is even more difficult though to release yourself from the ropes. The twin sisters of anxiety and depression can make their appearance.
What can you do when your hands are tied both figuratively and literally? There are constraints on all of us, all keeping us from doing what we would like to do.
Paul’s Story: Writing Letters From Prison
Paul was a prisoner. His hands were literally tied. He was under house arrest, yet he longed to be with his closest friends who lived many miles away in a city called Philippi. He didn’t have the internet to have chats, or send emails, or to video call. The best that he could do was to write letters.
Remember what letters were? You take a piece of paper, find a pen and write your thoughts down. Then into an envelope and post it via snail mail.
I think Paul might have felt like this:
‘I would love to be with you but my hands are tied.’
‘I would love to help you on your faith journey but my hands are tied.’
‘I know that you want me with you but my hands are tied.’
Paul writes these words to his friends:
Paul wanted to be with his friends to help them in their personal journey of transformation and change. He couldn’t. His hands were tied.
Even so, he was trusting God had it in hand. God’s hands were not tied. God could bring something good out of what seemed so desperately bad. Paul trusted in something bigger than himself. Paul, in fact, rejoiced in his situation:
4 Joys to Grasp When Your Hands Are Tied
1. God Is in You
This is amazing. If you have asked Jesus to be leader of your life then he comes and lives in you. The Holy Spirit comes and fills your life. Paul writes that we are a temple of the Holy Spirit.
2. God Is at Work — and His Creativity Is Not Limited
Just look at our universe and marvel at the creative energy unleashed. The only limits on God doing an incredible creative work in our lives are what we place on God ourselves. Freedom of choice is what God has handed us. God allures us to further and further transformation.
3. God Takes Great Pleasure in His Work
Creative God shouts at the end of creation, ‘It is good, very good.’ Have you ever created something and, in the process, felt a great deal of pleasure? God is like this and takes great pleasure in being in charge of the creative process.
4. God Has a Bigger Story Unfolding
We can’t see the big story of what God is up to. I wonder if Paul had an inkling as to the absolute blessing his ‘hands are tied’ prison letters would have on billions of people. Hands tied released a freedom to write. Your hands may be tied in one way, but how could this be used for something good in God’s bigger story?
Want to read more? Here is a link to a message I gave called ‘Working out what God is working in.’
Reflection Questions
- How are your hands tied?
- What opportunities does this provide?
- How does it feel to know that God is at work in you and is taking pleasure in the process?
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Further reading
- How to Stand Firm When Rotten Tomatoes Are Thrown Your Way — Facing lies, gossip, or criticism? Discover how the Apostle Paul used a simple formula to find transformation and spiritual deliverance.
- How God Meets Us When We Are Anxious — When God says ‘don’t be anxious’ it’s not a command it’s an invitation to grow closer in trust. We see a small corner of the picture but God sees the whole.
- When One Door Closes — When one door closes, we often stare at it with regret. Discover how to navigate the “liminal space” and trust in God’s providence for what’s next.
- 7 Reasons Why Waiting Patiently Is Good for You — Discover the power of waiting on God. Explore the meaning of patience through Psalm 40 and learn how to move from a cry to a song of praise.
- To Reap in Joy You Need to Sow in Tears (Psalm 126) — The only way to healing is through the pain. Discover how sowing tears leads to a harvest of deep, unshakable joy and why you shouldn’t journey alone.
- How to Cast Your Cares on a Clydesdale God — Discover how to cast your anxieties onto a Clydesdale-sized God and move from a fractured, anxious mind into the wholeness of Shalom.
Written by Barry Pearman — Community Chaplain, Mental Health Support Worker, and founder of Turning the Page, a resource walking a grace-filled path to mental wholeness through faith, hope, and love.
