Fragile Lives In Tender Hands

This morning many people in the heartland of our country awoke with broken hearts, hearts that were torn over the loss of their home, and hearts that were greatly grieved over the loss of loved ones and particularly so many children. And behind the loss was the terror of the wind against which they were helpless. There are some in this group who will find a deep comfort in knowing that even this terrible wind is not outside of God’s powerful hand, and that even in it He is very present and active.

While we cannot answer why one person dies or loses a home and why another person next to him or her doesn't get hurt or a house a block away isn't destroyed, what we can know is that our God is good and that even this did not happen out of His sovereign control. What we also can know is that God truly is the Creator of all that we see. But what we see is not as He created it. A lot has changed since the garden, from those pesky weeds to and including the changes in our climate following a cataclysmic worldwide flood which changed everything – a flood that was brought about by man’s rebellion.

God has not washed His hands of mankind and his world, but has chosen to work through this broken world to hold it together until such time that He brings a full renewal. In the meantime He saves and protects and it is He that gives us hope. In this we have opportunities to show His compassion and His mercy to those who are suffering. In this we have opportunities to bring aid to those who are needy. In this we can show His great love and even receive His comfort and know His peace.

Today’s devotion from Sarah is about our Creator God who is for us and in whom we trust. While it was not written with her having this specific day in mind or even the intensity of these events, it was written knowing that we all have times of adversity in different ways and in different degrees. It is in these times when our minds are prone to search for solutions and become anxious. But it is also in these times when we can stop and surrender to His hand, His leading, His help, His provision, His comfort, and the hope that comes from Him.

Today in “Jesus Calling” by Sarah Young (5/21)

I, the Creator of the universe, am with you and for you. What more could you need? When you feel some lack, it is because you are not connecting with Me at a deep level. I offer abundant Life; your part is to trust Me, refusing to worry about anything.

It is not so much adverse events that make you anxious as it is your thoughts about those events. Your mind engages in efforts to take control of a situation, to bring about the results you desire. Your thoughts close in on the problem like ravenous wolves. Determined to make things go your way, you forget that I am in charge of your life. The only remedy is to switch your focus from the problem to My Presence. Stop all your striving, and watch to see what I will do. I am the Lord!

What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all – how will he also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Romans 8:31-32

But as for me, I watch and hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me. Micah 7:7