No one can stop him or say to him, “What
do you mean by doing these things?” Daniel 4:35b NLT
What he thought
he controlled, he didn’t.
Our foursome—my
brother, his girlfriend, my wife, and I—set out to hike the Oconee Bell Trail,
a one-mile loop trail where the rare wildflower blooms from mid-March until
early April.
Along the way, we
passed a pond that appeared stagnant. My brother remarked that it would be a
good place to catch bass. My wife thought it looked like a good place to find
snakes. I was more interested in the sign telling the history of the pond.
A farmer dammed
the stream to form the pond. Later, he moved. The information didn’t tell how
long ago the event happened, just what was happening at present. Although the
farmer thought he could control the stream, he mistook the power of the
stream—and the One who controlled it.
As I walked to the
other end of the pond, I noticed the stream exiting the pond and making its way
down the mountain. The stream still ran through the pond and was actually in
the process of reclaiming its lost territory. The sign invited visitors to
return at a later date to witness the stream’s progress. The farmer attempted
to change the landscape, but when he left things began returning to normal.
Daniel said a
similar thing about the power of God as the sign said about the strength of the
stream. No one can stop God. And questioning why He does something is a waste
of time.
Knowing God is in
control comforts me. Believing fate controlled things would produce anxiety. I
may not understand my circumstances—or why God allows some things to happen in
this world or in people’s lives—but I can know He’s a God of love who acts in
the best interests of His people. He promises to work all things together for
our good, although His good may look entirely different than what we perceive
as good. That’s where faith and trust come in.
As the stream
controlled the pond—not the other way around—so God controls the events of your
life. He loves you and works to form you more into His image so that He can use
you to accomplish His work in this world.
Don’t try to dam up God's work in your
life. Let Him flow freely and powerfully.
Tweetable: Who controls your life?
Prayer: Father,
we give You complete control to do whatever You desire in our lives.
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