To the reader’s of this blog,
I don’t have it all together not even close. I try to encourage others with this
blog. I have problems of my own and I
often must remember that God is still in control just like you do because I
have problems that are bigger than me. I
read a passage a few months back in a book my dad gave me called Seasons of
Life by Charles R. Swindoll. The book dates
to 1983. I was born in 1976. If you’re inclined, you can do the math and
get back to me on how old either I or the book are. Sometimes I read something, and it sticks
with me. Other times I feel God leading
me to share a thing that I’ve read with others and this is one of those things
it seems since yesterday God has wanted me to share this. I don’t know if I need it more than you.
God’s Control
The bitter news of Dawson Trotman’s
drowning swept like a cold wind across Schroon Lake to the shoreline. Eyewitnesses tell of the profound anxiety,
the tears, the helpless disbelief in the faces of those who now looked across
the deep blue water. Everyone’s face
except one – Lila Trotman, Dawson’s widow.
As she suddenly walked upon the scene a close friend shouted, “Oh Lila…
He’s gone. Dawson’s gone!” To that she replied in calm assurance the
words of Psalm 115:3
But our God is in the
heavens;
He does whatever he
pleases.
All of the anguish, the sudden loneliness
that normally consumes and cripples those who survive did not invade that woman’s
heart. Instead, she leaned hard upon her
sovereign Lord.
As you read these words…. Does that seem strange to
you? Does it seem unusual to refer to a
tragic death as being God’s pleasure?
Honestly now, do you think God’s control over us is total or
partial? Let’s allow his word to speak
on this deep subject:
Thou hast enclosed me
behind and before
And laid thy hand
upon me.
Thine eyes have seen
my unformed substance;
And in they book they
were all written.
The days that were
ordained for me,
When as yet there was
not one of them
Psalm 139:5, 16
Woe to the one who
quarrels with his Maker—
An earthenware vessel
among the vessels of earth!
Will the clay say to
the potter, “What are you doing?”
Isaiah 45:9
……I am God, and there
is no other;
I am God, and there
is no one like me…
Saying, “My purpose
will be established,
And I will accomplish
all my good pleasure.”
Isaiah 46:9-10
… He does according
to His will in the host of heaven
And among the
inhabitants of earth;
And no one can ward
off his hand
Or say to him, “What
hast thou done?”
Daniel 4:35
There are more. Patiently, repeatedly, in a dozen different
ways the Word makes the point. Accept it
or not, God’s calling the shots. He’s
running the show. Either He’s in full
control or He’s off his throne. It’s as
foolish to say He’s, “almost sovereign” as it would be to say I’m “almost
married” or Kennedy was “almost president” or the surgeon’s gloves are “almost
sterile.”
If you’re trying to grasp all the ramifications
of this great truth… don’t. You can’t
anyway. Feverishly toiling to unravel
all the knots can turn you into a fanatical freak… it will push you to the edge
of your mental capacity… it will result in endless hours of theological
hairsplitting. The finite can never plumb
the depths of the infinite… so don’t waste your time trying.
It was a glorious day when I was
liberated from the concentration camp of fear… the fear of saying… “I don’t
understand the reasons why, but I accept God’s hand in what has happened.” It was a greater day when I realized that nobody
expected me to have all the answers… least of all God! If I could figure it all out, I’d qualify as
his adviser, and scripture makes it clear He doesn’t need my puny counsel. He wants my unreserved love, my unqualified
devotion, my undaunted trust—not my unenlightened analysis of His ways.
One of the marks of spiritual
maturity is the quiet confidence that God is in control… without the need to
understand why He does what he does.
Lila Trotman bore such a mark as she faced the ways of God that were
unsearchable… and unfathomable.
What marks your life?
