Joshua 4:23-24 For the Lord your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over. The Lord your
Things are out of control!
God did to the Jordan what he had done to the Red Sea when he dried it up before us until we had crossed over. He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God.”
Everything is out of control
It’s that horrible realization you have when you can’t change what’s coming. Things might seem to be falling apart around you. The people in your life might not have your best interest at heart. Your job might be bogging you down or your boss could be unkind and make working there painful and like a punishment. We’ve all had moments when we’ve felt out of control. For the most part we don’t like to be out of control.
She’s got it all together
It’s amazing how hard we are on ourselves. We look at others and compare ourselves to them. We see the well dressed mom taking her three adorable well-behaved, well dressed children to Whole Foods, and think, why can’t I be like that? Why am I using coupons at Safeway while my toddlers scream at each other and I just noticed spit up stains on my shirt. Why do some people seem so in control when my life can seem so out of control.
Don’t play the comparison game
In our John Bible Study, the leader reminded us not to play the comparison game. We don’t really know what’s going on in other persons life. She might have money and good clothes, but she might not have the love of her husband or a good self-esteem. God has given gifts to each of us that are unique, and he provides our opportunities and promises that He has plans to prosper us and not to harm us.
God is Powerful
In our reading above, we hear about how God parted the Jordan, just as He had parted the Red Sea. What I like is that it even tells us God’s motivation. We find out why God parted the Jordan. He parted it so that we would know that “the hand of the Lord is powerful” and “so that you might always fear the Lord your God”. Now this isn’t the kind of fear that is being scared, but the kind of fear that acknowledges the power that is there. God is able to do whatever He wants, and while we fear Him in awe and revel in His power, we aren’t afraid of Him, because we know that He is good. His ways are good.
We don’t need to feel out of control
Ok, maybe we do. We aren’t in control, but one who is more powerful, more knowledgeable and more kind is in control. We can trust that there is never going to be anything that will change the goodness of the Lord, or keep Him from fulfilling His plans for us. We can trust that whatever occurs in our life the Lord can use for our good. So when things seem out of control around you, cling to the one who parted the seas and thinks about you and your well-being. Trust His power and curl up in His arms.
God is... 