Choosing His Hand is one woman’s journey of faith from turning her back on God and denying His existence, to recognizing His Almighty hand through a miracle, to finally choosing to place her life in His hand. How do you maintain a faith in an all-powerful, loving God when bad things happen to you? Many of us have been confronted by that question at some point in our lives. Although some Christians possess a faith strong enough to maintain a relationship with God even through the most difficult of times, others lose faith in God entirely when they fail to see the evidence of His hand.

When author Julia Kercher was faced with difficult circumstances in her life, she began to question God’s existence. In Choosing His Hand, Kercher shares her story of turning her back on God and attempting to take control of her own life—at least that’s what she thought she was doing. In reality, she had turned her life over to Satan’s control.

Still, God refused to give up on Kercher. He put His people in her path to help her find her way back to Him. But it wasn’t until experiencing a miracle that Kercher finally came to recognize God and eventually chose to place her life in His hand. Her life didn’t become miraculously happy and easy and she was still not in control, but she could trust in the One who is. When tragedy struck and Kercher’s world came crashing down around her, she had no one but God to turn to for answers and comfort. She had to trust in Him to carry her through.

I stood outside Randal’s door and paused to pray before opening it. I prayed, “God, please give me the right words to say to him.” I then opened the door and found Randal sitting on the floor. He looked so small and vulnerable sitting in the middle of his large room, nothing like the “big kid” he was trying to be. I sat down on the floor in front of him, still not knowing what to say, but feeling an intense desire to steer him in the right direction. As I glanced around the room, I noticed a pair of Randal’s shoes lying on the floor. Since he was so bright, I knew Randal would understand the analogy that came to me.

I picked up one of the shoes with my left hand. I explained to Randal, “This shoe can do nothing on its own. It needs someone to move it. Like this shoe, we are powerless on our own.”

I put the shoe in my right hand and said, “When we place ourselves in God’s hand, He takes control and moves us according to His plan. But if we choose to leave His hand…” I dropped the shoe on the floor. “Satan grabs us.” I grabbed the shoe again with my left hand. “Then Satan has control of us and moves us according to his will and he will continue to do so until we choose to return to God’s hand.” I placed the shoe back in my right hand.

“You have to make the choice, Randal. You can be in God’s hand, in His control, or you can try to do it on your own and have Satan grab you. No matter what, you are not in control.”

I put the shoe back on the floor and walked out of the room, closing the door behind me. I stood outside of his door and thanked God for giving me those words. I then prayed that the lesson would sink in and that Randal would make the right choice.

Julia Kercher holds a Master’s degree in counseling and has worked as a mental health therapist for over ten years. She and her husband, Robert, have been married for eighteen years and have four children, Randal, Justin, Sheila, and Kiriana. The family resides in Lincoln, Nebraska where they are actively involved in their church.