This is Part 2 in the series on God’s Sovereignty:
My dad has had increasing problems with his memory over the last few years. We knew he was getting less and less able to care for himself or his home and that he shouldn’t be driving, but there seemed to be nothing that could be done to get him out of his home. My brothers and Mom have been discussing what to do to get him out, but couldn’t figure out anything that he would do willingly.
We began praying about it and, a few weeks ago, he ended up lost in another county, unsure of how to get home or where he was. It was really hard on my mom to see him this way. It would be hard to see someone you love failing.
She realized, though, that this was a perfect answer to our prayers. God’s sovereignty took Dad to a place where he was found by a police officer. This police officer took him into the station, called Mom, and my sister-in-law and she went to pick him up. He was then taken to the VA hospital where he was immediately in the care of professionals and could be assessed. He now is at a facility that can care for him as his prognosis develops.
Any of the thoughts that were considered for getting him somewhere to be cared for paled in comparison to the outcome. In this case, Dad was cared for from the moment the police officer found him and then he was put into facilities that helped get him what he needed.
I know God has each of us in His hands and worrying does no good. I recently saw a quote from Todd Wagner that said “worry is believing God won’t get it right”. That really is so true. We think we know what is right, but we don’t know the big picture. God does. We want things to be under our control, but control is such a fickle thing and often it can hold us under control instead. There is such great responsibility in having control and no freedom in it. The outcome of every decision rests solely on you.
I’m not saying we should never take on responsibility or be in leadership roles. However, to take on these roles requires trusting others to help by then taking control of certain areas of the project. I have found, though, that even when we count on others or feel we can handle it ourselves, it goes so much better when we relinquish the real control to God and then seek His guidance and discernment to hear Him correctly. With Him in control, so much more good can come from our leadership roles. We not only don’t have the heavy burden resting solely on our shoulders for the outcome but results we could have never imagined usually happen. These outcomes have ripple effects that can touch any number of people sometimes for generations. I like those odds for success much more than what I alone can do.
~ Joanna Lynn
