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What's going on?

Just one glace at today’s headlines and the weight of all that’s happening in the world is so heavy:

Another little boy dies in Fort McMurray from insecticide poisoning.
Leaders meet today on missing and murdered aboriginal women.
Sexual assault cases are in progress.
A school bus driver is killed.
ISIS militants destroy artifacts in Iraq.
One hundred Assyrian Christians were captured by ISIS this week.
Will WWIII break out as a result?

After all of that there is still the everyday weight of our lives.

Children who rail against truth, obedience and love.
The long, sleepless nights that come with a newborn and threaten to wear down our last smidgen of sanity.
More work than there are hours in the day for.
Less work than there are hours in the day for.
Less money than the month’s bills require.
The friend who is battling severe depression.
The friend who has cut themselves off from the church family.
Family members who have lost all love for each other.
That nagging feeling that you are not “doing it” right.
The ache for someone to share your life with and the fear that it will never happen.
Something as “simple” as Mount St. Laundry piling in the laundry room (not so simple in my house!).

How do we reconcile all of this?

This morning, as I was reading the Bible, I came upon this beautiful verse:

“No longer do I call you servants, because the servant does not know what His master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.”
                                                                                             John 15:15                            


Isn’t that beautiful? Take a second to read it again.
“…the servant does not know what His master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.”
For me, the real struggle is fear.
I want to know what is going on! The idea of not knowing the big picture is terrifying.
Will all of my kids grow up to love and serve God?
Will the broken relationships in my life be reconciled?
Will WWIII actually break out in my lifetime?
Will I, or my children, be persecuted for our faith?
Will there ever be enough sleep or money to function healthily?
Once I get going on my fears, the list is longer than a five-year-old’s wish list for Santa!

That is why John 15:15 is so beautifully comforting. “all that I have heard from my Father I have made know to you.”

So, what has Christ made known to me? Here are the three things that I’m pondering for today. A true list of truths from God’s word would be HUGE (and I’m certain there are many out there). But, for now:

First: God is sovereign.
The dictionary defines this as “possessing supreme or ultimate authority; ruling outside of interference”.
The Bible says that God, “works all things according to the counsel of His will’. (Eph. 11:1)
It also says that he is working all things together for good for those who love him, “according to his purpose”. (Romans 8:28)
This is such a comfort. There is a plan. God is in charge. God’s plan is good.

Second: God is good.
This is why his sovereignty is comforting. If he were not good, his plan would not be good; and, by extension, we would all be hooped.
The Bible says, “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is Good;” (1 Chron. 16:34)
“You are good and do good; teach me your statutes.” (Psalm 119:68)

Third: God loves his children and will preserve them.
I just need to read 1 John again to be reminded of his love. Or consider the fact that Jesus came to redeem us and that it’s God’s great love lavished upon us that made us Children of God. (1 John 3:1)
And this:
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.” (John 10-28-29)

So ya, the world is nuts. My life is nuts. Terrible, hurtful things are happening everywhere. But God; God in his sovereignty has a grand plan and on top of that has a great love for me, not because I’m good, but because He is! How does this affect the day to day? Check out this verse:

“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.”
1 John 4:18a

Deep breaths.
Christ made knows his father’s plan when he came to the world to redeem us.
There is nothing to fear.
And a closing thought:

“Thou art all my good in times of peace,
My only support in days of trouble,
My one sufficiency when life shall end.
Help me to see how good Thy will is in all,
And even when it crosses mine
Teach me to be pleased with it.”
Valley of Vision

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