Thursday, April 08, 2010

Who's in control?

You open Your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing (Psalm 145:16).

‘April showers bring May flowers.’ Well, if you’re like me, more water doesn’t sound very appealing. Heavy snow and spring flooding have soured me on April showers this year. Of course, we might feel differently later on. If things get too dry during the summer, there will be hand wringing over the fate of the harvest.

We’ve seen congress wrestle with health care reform. It’s amazing how differently two parties can view the same issue. Such bitter division makes compromise all but impossible.

We grumble about the weather. But it’s just as well that we can’t do anything about it. How could you get every farmer in our part of the state to agree on how much moisture we should receive and when? It would be like trying to get unity in congress about healthcare. Each farmer has different needs. Topography, soil composition, access to water, even prevailing winds—no one has the same conditions to work with. In addition, some farmers have certain crops they prefer to grow. And those who specialize in livestock have their own ideas about agreeable weather conditions. Good weather for one person might be disappointing weather for another.

So it’s for the best that God reserves control of the weather for Himself. In fact, God keeps many things under His direct control. We are given stewardship of the earth, but sin makes us pretty bad managers. Under our watch, entire species have been killed off. Under our management, pollution has made a mess of the environment. Under our supervision, Americans grow fat while all over the world people are starving to death.

Because of sin, we think about ourselves first and foremost. Priority One is to make ourselves happy and comfortable. Considering what is best for others comes later. This is why God limits how much control we have over worldly matters. This is why the Maker of all things sent His Son to join us on earth, where the Son of God put our happiness and comfort before His own, dying on the cross in terrible agony so we can be forgiven.

We often grumble about things that we can’t control. I suggest praising God instead, because He works hard to bless each and every one of us.

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