This afternoon my husband washed the truck…with the help of two grandchildren.  He patiently maneuvered between the two-year-old, who was actively spraying the hose, and the five-year-old, who was vigorously using the scrub brush.  He was on his hands and knees, dodging hose spray and soap suds, as he tried to make sure that all the spots were removed.  In the middle of the fray, I heard the five-year-old cheerfully exclaim, “I think we’ve got this under control!”.

I couldn’t help it; I laughed.

I wonder if God smiles when we think we have everything under control.  We are prone to believe that we can manage on our own; we are egotistical enough to claim that we are completely capable to handle the ups and downs and ins and outs of every day.  Sometimes, we even convince ourselves that God needs us to get the work done.

God doesn’t need us; He wants us.

He wants our fellowship and our laughter. He wants us to learn and grow. He wants us to call on Him when we are in trouble. He wants us to become more and more like Jesus.

Could God run this world more efficiently without our mess ups and attitudes?  I think so, but that was not God’s plan.

He has chosen us and called us to follow Him. He has paid the price through His Son to redeem us.  He has given us work to do and tasks to complete. He desires our fellowship.

And every day, He walks the journey with us.

Do we have life under control? No way!

But we can rest assured that God does!

 

Psalm 47:1 Clap your hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy!
² For the Lord, the Most High, is to be feared, a great king over all the earth.  ESV

Psalm 50: ¹⁰ For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. ¹¹ I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are mine. ¹² If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof.   ¹⁴ Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High: ¹⁵ And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.

Romans 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

Photo:  Montana Buffalo ©Beth Mims