‘‘My hope is in You.’’ Psalm 39:7
Life seldom works out exactly the way we hope or think it will. When Job lost everything, he said, ‘I don’t have the strength to endure. I have nothing to live for… I am utterly helpless, without any chance of success’ (Job 6:11, 13). Yet in the end, Job got back twice as much as he had lost. But the experiences and adversities he had gone through changed his attitude towards God profoundly. ‘I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted…My ears have heard of you but now my eyes have seen you’ (Job 42:2, 5). What had Job discovered? That God is sovereign! He is not our servant, we are His servants. We must obey His Word in order to walk in His blessing – but the final outcome of all things rests in His hands and not ours. Many of us struggle with control. We want control not only over our circumstances, but our goals, plans, relationships, and all that concerns us. Such fear is often an indication of an unconscious desire to be independent of God; to be the master of our own destiny. Sometimes it’s the result of growing up in a chaotic environment and resolving never to repeat the experiences of your earlier life. Perhaps you think you’re in control of your life due to your educational, financial, or other achievements. It isn’t true. God enabled you to do everything that you have done. Paul writes, ‘But whatever I am now, it is all because God poured out his special favour on me’ (1 Corinthians 15:10). Today God is in control – trust Him!
