God is in control

From time to time, I can see myself getting ahead of what God has planned. This is commonly referred to in an allegory (or an analogy) of the horse and carriage. "Don't let the carriage in front of the horse." How can the carriage get to where it's supposed to go if the horses do not pull it? I refer to this a lot with my Christian walk and frequently need to give myself a systems check, so to speak. God IS in control, even when we don't think He is. He is in control over the so called "bad" things in our lives as well. Who are we to say that because things "don't go our way" that it is not God's will? In our weakness we are made stronger. It is during these times that God reveals His perfect will for our lives. This has been the case for me these last several months. I have been having a difficult time dealing with pressures of work, school, family, ministry, friends and even sins.... All of these things pull for my attention and take my eyes off the real reason for our existence - to serve God and to do ALL things for His pleasure! He will reward us 100 times more than we could image He would by following what He has planned!

To illustrate this (and as a reminder to myself and hopefully a reference to others) there are three things to remember: God is bigger than all creation; God is bigger than any problem; and God is bigger than our will. First let me give credit where credit is due... much of this was outlined by Larry Grine, lead pastor at Dayspring Fellowship in Keizer, Oregon. But I thought this to be so simple, yet so important to share with others. I mainly want to express the importance of this through my own experiences. I feel like it is stronger testimony to share that with you than to quote Bible versus. However if you would like to look these up for yourselves here is the scripture:
God is bigger than all creation: Psalm 19, 33:9, 103:9; Jeremiah 32:17; Revelation 4:11
God is bigger than any problem: Daniel 6; Psalm 24:8; II Chronicles 32; Luke 18:27
God is bigger than our will: Daniel 3:6,12, 4:35; Psalm 115:3; Job 42:2; II Corinthians 12:11

The topic that hit home with me was the last of God's will is bigger than ours. We can try to live out our own petty desires and not seek where God wants us to be and struggle through life OR we can surrender our will and do what He wants and enjoy our life more than we could EVER imagine.

The story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in Daniel ch. 3 illustrates this well. For simplicity, let's refer to them as Rach, Shach and Benny (anyone every watch Veggie Tales?). They had made a decision to live their lives for their God no matter what the conciquences. They had been promoted to high positions by the king Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar was very powerful and wanted all of the people in the land to worship his idols and, specifically, to bow down to a giant statue. Rach, Shach and Benny would not, of course, so as a punishment Nebuchadnezzar threw them into a fiery furnace. They stated to him that they didn't need to defend their decision knowing that God's will would be done. "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up."

This struck me for the very first time in a different way. They didn't know that God would keep them from frying! They simply trusted Him to do what His will would be, whether that meant frying to a crisp in the fire or being delivered and protected from harm. They stated to the king, "the God we serve is able to save us from it [the furnace fire]." Note they say He is ABLE. This tells me they were not sure of the outcome, only God would do what was within His will. The story ends by Nebuchadnezzar seeing that they in fact didn't die but were protected from ANY harm to them. As they came out of the furnace Nebuchadnezzar promoted them to royal positions within his kingdom.

God is big, isn't He? Much bigger than you or I and much bigger than we can fathom in our puny little minds. There is no reasoning God, only believing. Just like you believe that when you fly in an airplane that you will get from point A to point B by flying through the air, so we should believe that the creator of this world can do ANYTHING and that we should be humble enough to admit that we can NEVER understand God and His creation but to only trust in Him and follow His will for our lives.

Here are some questions to ponder:
What does the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in Daniel 3 have to teach us about God's power, His will and our submission to him?

What is the difference between "there is nothing my God cannot do" and "there is nothing my God will not do"? Which do you believe? What danger lurks in the thinking behind this distinction?

How will you respond to this message? What new thing does God want you to know about Him and what will you do as a result?