Never Out of Control
1 Samuel 21-24
Continuing on yesterday's theme of complicated relatives, today's reading finds David running all over the place being pursued by his father-in-law, Saul. The object is not to hug him and invite him to dinner—unless of course there is hemlock in the wine!
Then comes this line, tucked away among all the murder and mayhem: "Day after day Saul searched for him, but God did not give David into his hands" —1 Samuel 23:14.
David's life was anything but easy. Sometimes our lives get a little, or a lot, on the complicated side. And I ask, when those complicated moments come, if I remind myself that unless God chooses to do so to accomplish some divine purpose, he will not allow me to fall into any hands that don't contribute to that purpose for my life.
Doubting God's benevolence, coupled with the idea that God has such control over what does or does not happen to us, might make us break out into a cold sweat. I wonder if David ever sweat over his circumstances as he hid in the hills trying to avoid Saul's henchmen.
As Jesus came closer to the cross, his humanity shrank from its painful reality as he prayed in the garden. He prayed as any of us would, that he might be spared what he knew was coming. "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me…" (Luke 22:42). But in the same breath, he displayed that same trust in a loving Father that we need in times of stress and distress. He said: "…yet not my will, but yours be done."
There is nothing wrong with asking for rescue from the circumstances that threaten to overwhelm us when that same request comes accompanied with a commitment to the purposes of a benevolent Father.
Trouble is tedious, but God never lets it get out of hand—his hands.
Continuing on yesterday's theme of complicated relatives, today's reading finds David running all over the place being pursued by his father-in-law, Saul. The object is not to hug him and invite him to dinner—unless of course there is hemlock in the wine!
Then comes this line, tucked away among all the murder and mayhem: "Day after day Saul searched for him, but God did not give David into his hands" —1 Samuel 23:14.
David's life was anything but easy. Sometimes our lives get a little, or a lot, on the complicated side. And I ask, when those complicated moments come, if I remind myself that unless God chooses to do so to accomplish some divine purpose, he will not allow me to fall into any hands that don't contribute to that purpose for my life.
Doubting God's benevolence, coupled with the idea that God has such control over what does or does not happen to us, might make us break out into a cold sweat. I wonder if David ever sweat over his circumstances as he hid in the hills trying to avoid Saul's henchmen.
As Jesus came closer to the cross, his humanity shrank from its painful reality as he prayed in the garden. He prayed as any of us would, that he might be spared what he knew was coming. "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me…" (Luke 22:42). But in the same breath, he displayed that same trust in a loving Father that we need in times of stress and distress. He said: "…yet not my will, but yours be done."
There is nothing wrong with asking for rescue from the circumstances that threaten to overwhelm us when that same request comes accompanied with a commitment to the purposes of a benevolent Father.
Trouble is tedious, but God never lets it get out of hand—his hands.
"Trouble is tedious, but God never lets it get out of hand—His hands." Love this line. Father, help me trust you more, and circumstances less.
ReplyDeleteGreat article! Hugs, Rita