Skip to main content

Control

I recently had a conversation with a dear friend during which was expressed to me great frustration and a general feeling of helplessness and confusion regarding a situation.  As I sat and listened to the explanation, it quickly became clear to me what was happening and what was missing from the equation.  I asked, "What can you do about this?"  A pause of silence on the other end of the phone, until I heard, "Well, people were complaining to me and asking me..." I interrupted: "That's not what I asked.  I asked: What can you do about it?"  A second pause of silence and then, feeling that the answer was probably not going to escape their lips, I suggested, "Nothing?"

Lately, God has been reminding me of our ineffectiveness at changing the course of the universe.  I know this may come as a huge surprise to many of you who will read this, but the truth is we have little impact on what God has planned.  Yes, we have the ability to make decisions, we have the ability to choose and we even have the ability to turn away from what God has put in place.  Ultimately, however, the plans rest in the hands of the Master.  Scripture reminds us time and time again regarding God's authority and dominion of this world, yet we constantly self-appoint in order to make our own decisions.

This raises the question: why are we so bent on doing it ourselves?  Why are we so determined to solve the problems of this world?

Paul wrote a letter to the church in Rome in which he instructed them to "be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer" (Romans 12:12, NIV).  Too often, those of us that carry the name of Christian on our t-shirts, baseball caps, and bumper sticker have forgotten that to be a Christian - a follower of Christ - we are actually supposed to be like Christ.  Right before Paul gives these instructions, he also says to "never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord" (Romans 12:11, NIV).  Never lack zeal?  Never be forlorn?  Never hang our head?  Never get so frustrated that we want to jump ship or move on to our next great spiritual challenge (because, after all, God has called us to do this, right?).

Please don't misunderstand me: I have made this mistake.  I have jumped ship before.  I have given up the fight and in the process caused more injury than if I had stuck with it, maintained my zeal and fervor in serving the Lord.  But, I have also learned.  I have learned that God is the one that has set my course, and as a wise pastor once said, "I don't think God is a God of confusion," so it makes no sense that He keeps moving you or giving you all these mixed signals.  The signals must be coming from somewhere else.

You see, there are many battles that we will encounter in our life.  There are many hurdles we will come up against.  There are going to be times when everything and everyone around us is in a state of chaos, and yet we can rest in the peace of knowing that God truly is in control.  And while many people will ask us what they should do or what can be done or how did we get ourselves into this mess...just know that God has it in control.  We simply need to be joyful in the midst of the chaos and have hope in Jesus Christ; be patient in times of trial and when the world seems to be closing in on us; and be faithful to lay our head in the lap of the Master, allowing Him to hold us and remind us that He is our Father and yes, He has it all under control.
Location: HOT SPRINGS NATIONAL PARK, AR 71913, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Rock 'Em Sock 'Em

 I did not grow up throwing punches with schoolmates or with siblings. I did not experience violence in my home as a child. I was never encouraged to throw the first punch, or any punch for that matter. My memories of physical altercations with another person are limited to one specific instance from my junior high years, and the result of my choosing to resort to throwing a punch was not entirely positive. Yes, I did "solve" my problem on one hand, but I created new problems on the other.  There is certainly a culture that exists in our world that promotes violence as the answer to solving problems. I have a 5 and 7 year old - believe me, some people think that hitting is the only way to fix something. But outside of child's play and sibling bickering, there is a much more damaging culture that promotes "fixing" whatever problem one might have by exerting physical prowess or at least the threat of exertion. It is not limited to one section of culture or even so...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Captivity of Fear

Fear holds you captive. By this, I mean that when we are afraid, it holds us in a restricted position. What we could have possibly done, we can do no longer, or at least not to the original potential. My wife sometimes shares a story of fear that she has related to the abnormally large cockroaches that we would sometimes encounter when we lived in Hawaii. Truthfully, they were water bugs, but their similarity to a cockroach was remarkable, especially in a dimly lit situation. On one occasion, a water bug had taken up residence in a door frame that she needed to pass through, but the mere fact that it was in that door frame was nearly enough to keep her from going through. She eventually mustered up the gumption and ran through the door. Her fear nearly kept her from doing what she needed to do, even though that particular task was not necessarily a noble one. In comparison, the prophet Jeremiah was given a task by God to warn Israel of the coming judgment of God. The judgment was roote...
Post a Comment
Read more

Hurt People Hurt People

I recently heard this familiar phrase. It was one that I have heard before, but it had been some time. When I heard it, I nodded my head in agreement as I processed all that this meant. People who get hurt, for any number of reasons, are inclined to then go and hurt someone else. If you say or do something that causes another person to hurt, then there is a high probability - according to this saying - that they are going to go and do the same to someone else.  The more I thought about this phrase over the course of the week, the more I came to realize how it has no place inside the Kingdom mindset or in the life of a Christian. It is certainly true that all of us are subject to being hurt at times in our lives. This hurt comes through the insensitivity of others, through the direct persecution of others, and it often comes through the actions of others that were never meant to harm at all. In some cases, perhaps, the actions of others were meant to help - either your situation or ...
Post a Comment
Read more