Try an author, a thought, or a phrase in “quotes”.↑ ↓ Navigate · Esc Close

0 words found

Explore all results ↗

God reacheth us good things with our own hands.

God reacheth us good things with our own hands.
Traditional

Historical period not yet established

Meaning in plain English

The saying connects divine help with human action. It can encourage participation in a hoped-for result, but it should not make faith a guarantee of success or imply that people who need assistance have failed to use their hands well enough.

What the words are saying

The hands are both the means of receiving and the means of doing. By bringing them into the statement about God, the proverb makes action part of the imagined provision rather than setting prayer or hope apart from practical effort. A person who uses the phrase may be encouraging a step that is within reach. Its religious framing belongs to that reading, not to a universal explanation of outcomes. Circumstances can limit what anyone can do, and help from others may be essential. A constructive application asks what contribution is possible and what support is needed. It does not assign fault to someone in difficulty or promise that effort earns divine favour.

Everyday example

A faith community hoping to improve access to its reading room arranges a survey with visitors and offers practical help with the changes they identify.

When to use it

Use it within an appropriate faith context to connect hope with a feasible practical contribution.

What it does not mean

Effort does not guarantee success or divine favour; people may need support and hold different beliefs.

Agent-assisted editorial interpretation. This explains the words; it does not by itself verify their author or earliest origin.

▷ Play from here
Attribution & collection notes
Author or tradition
Traditional
Attribution: traditional
Country attributed
Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin.
Historical period
Historical period not yet established
No sufficiently supported historical placement has been established. Import and download dates are not treated as composition dates.
Recorded source
A Dictionary of English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases

Entry 709 · Good things

A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.

Culture
English