KEEP CALM, GOD IS IN CONTROL

Since the Lord is directing our steps, why try to understand everything that happens along the way? (Proverbs 20:24, TLB)

The Scenario:

I have been aboard many flights to different destinations and one thing that I have observed from pilots and Cabin Crew is that they assure passengers of smooth flight before the flight takes off. They give passengers hope that they will reach their destinations safely.

Another observation that is quite intriguing is that majority of the passengers don’t see the pilots, neither do the pilots show their certificates to passengers that they are qualified to fly the plane. All they (passengers) hear is someone mentioning his name and telling them to relax and observe safety instructions.

The third observation is that passengers who trust the pilot’s words and probably the airline company enjoy their journey, sometimes above 40000 feet, although there may be turbulence, diversion, or emergency landing. Chesley Sullenberger saved 150 passengers aboard US Airways Flight 1549 in January 2009 when he safely landed the plane on the Hudson River in New York. However, passengers who try to understand everything that happens along the way get frightened and act like dead fish with the least incident.

The Broader Picture:

• God has good plans for you

“I say this because I know the plans I have for you.” This message is from the Lord. “I have good plans for you. I don’t plan to hurt you. I plan to give you hope and a good future.” Jeremiah 29:11 (ERV)

The basis of the Christian journey is that God has plans to give His children hope and a good future. As a matter of fact, He knows the end from the beginning and he planned all your days before your conception. Thus nothing you have been through, or you are going through, or you would go through, can surprise Him. He has plans to give you good health, good breaks, prosperous life, great ideas, promotion, wealth, success, power to defeat your enemies, to spend eternity with him, etc. This confirms what the scripture says that “Your beginnings will seem humble, so prosperous will your future be.” (Job 8:7, NIV)

• God directs your Steps to achieve His plans for your life

“The steps of good men are directed by the Lord. He delights in each step they take.” (Psalms 37:23, TLB)

The next point is that since He knows your future, couple with his plans for you, he directs your steps to the attainment of his plans for your life. God knows the right path you should take and he guides your steps along that path when you are obedient to His Word.

The Reality:

God always promises a fruitful end. He doesn’t tell his children how the journey will be like but He does promise that He will never leave them nor forsake them, whether they go through fire or storms. Note that storms of life are inevitable. No man can skip that. Thus what you should do as a child of God is to trust that God is able to do what He has promised. The frustration, stress, or depression comes, like the passenger who acts like dead fish on planes, when you try to understand or figure out everything that happens along the way.

In Isaiah 55:8-9 (TLB), the scripture says that “This plan of mine is now what you would work out, neither are my thoughts the same as yours! For just as the heavens are higher that the earth, so are my ways higher than yours, and my thoughts than yours.”

Your mind is limited to understanding everything the Lord does so you’ve got to trust His Word that All things are working together for your good. And in all things, give thanks. When things don’t happen the way you planned them to be, give thanks and believe that God has your best interest at heart and he is directing your steps to a good future.

Someone once said that “there are so many things in your life now that you don’t understand but one day you will. One day you will understand that they were part of God’s plan for your life.”

Be encouraged that God is in control and He is directing your steps to achieve His plans for your life. Keep Calm

I will close with this:

As the rain and snow come down from heaven and stay upon the ground to water the earth, and cause the grain to grow and to produce seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry, so also is my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It shall accomplish all I want it to and prosper everywhere I send it.

You will live in joy and peace. ThGe mountains and hills, the trees of the field – all the world around you – will rejoice. Where once were thorns, fir trees will grow; where briars grew, the myrtle trees will sprout up. This miracle will make the Lord’s name very great and be an everlasting sign of God’s power and love. (Isaiah 55:10-13, TLB)