Have you ever witnessed a zoomed back replay on TV of a baseball player hitting a homerun?  If so and you watched the fans behind home plate, you would notice a common reaction throughout the crowd … simultaneously and almost to a person.  They raise both hands in exuberant exaltation!

This scene plays out in the seats or bleachers of every sports event.  And not only is it a common reaction of the observers; it is also a common reaction of the athletes themselves.

Furthermore, raising one’s hands in joy in moments of high emotion extends well beyond the athletic arena.  It occurs in virtually every aspect of life when any victory is achieved.  The higher the stakes, the quicker and more widespread the gesture when success is realized. 

David Matsumoto, professor of psychology at San Francisco State University, drew this conclusion after studying Olympic athletes in 2008. “Triumph has its own signature expression that is immediate, automatic and universal across cultures.”  It is seen in one’s face, in one’s posture, and typically, in raising one’s hands high.

Raising one’s hands is a common symbol of victory, triumph and success.  It expresses feelings of joy and excitement, especially during moments of great achievement or overcoming great odds. And according to anthropologists, the gesture is “hard-wired” into humans – regardless of gender, ethnicity, culture, or place in history.

Secular researchers speculate that evolution embedded the reaction in humans from the earliest times.  For example, Margaret J. King, director of the Center for Cultural Studies and Analysis in Philadelphia, suggests that traditional victory stance may have been exhibited when the earliest humans celebrated their first conquests, such as successfully hunting prey … and consequently it was deeply deposited in the emotional base of our brains.

I don’t doubt that the gesture is part-and-parcel of the human psyche, and goes way back into our earliest history.  However, I know that our origins are not a result of a random evolutionary process, but rather through a wonderful, well-planned act of creation by a loving God.

Therefore, I wonder if hands raised in triumph doesn’t have another lineage. 

It seems logical to me that the Lord would make humans naturally inclined to raise their hands in victory and triumph toward the Lord who has blessed them with any and every good thing.  Even if they don’t understand why they are doing it.

Many Christian congregations regularly raise their hands in worship to God.  It symbolizes surrender, submission, and supplication to God.  It also expresses worship of God and triumph in and through God.  Attend a Christian concert, and you will witness thousands of people raising their hands to the Lord.

This is biblical.  David summarizes the truth beautifully in his song to the Lord: “Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.  I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.” (Psalm 63:3-5).

Of course, it not un-biblical to practice a worship style that doesn’t raise hands.  Nevertheless, the Bible often refers to lifting one’s hands to the Lord.  Which means that it is a good thing – even a natural thing – for God’s people to do.

As a human being, you will raise your hands when you feel triumphant joy regarding some earthly activity.  As a believer, raise your hands – literally and/or spiritually – in triumphant joy to a God who loves you, forgives you, and blesses you in so many ways.  Oh, and by the way, he’s also the God who has saved you. 

There is nothing more triumphant and joyful than that!