He's Got the Whole World in His Hands
I’ve been thinking a lot about the story of Job from the Bible over the past year. In case it’s been awhile, here’s a brief recap.
Job basically had a great life with a beautiful family and worshipped God. One day, Satan approaches God and comments that Job only worships Him because his life is going so well and that if that were taken from Job, he would curse God instead of worshipping Him. Over a series of events, God allows Satan to strip everything away from Job: his money, possessions, family, friends, and eventually even his health. However, regardless of what Satan did, Job continued to worship and praise God. Eventually, God rewards Job for his faithfulness and not only restores everything to him but doubles what was lost.
In my current season of life, this story really resonates with me. Most days, I feel like my life looks a lot like Job’s. From a cursory view of the last few years, I can count more losses than perceivable wins. I’ve had more health losses, doctor’s appointments, tests, and failed treatments in the last 2 years, than in my entire life combined. I’ve had a job loss and with it, a significant loss of income and benefits. There are days where it feels like the hits just keep coming and there’s more going wrong than going right.
Yesterday, I opened an envelope in the mail and learned of mounting medical costs owed in the tens of thousands of dollars. A moment of pure panic hit as I realized this is likely the first of many to come my way over the next few weeks. Next, panic went to worry about how I conceivably make the hard decisions on health treatment options v affordability and wondering if I should apply for another job or not.
But God’s...
goodness and faithfulness reminded me that He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands.
It’s funny how we change little by little and don’t even notice. After a long day, my husband and I finally had a few minutes to connect last night and discuss the day. He reminded me of a conversation we had just over a year ago after I had been laid off from my job and went through similar emotions of fear and panic and worry. How easy it is for me to forget about the bigness of God. How natural it feels to doubt God’s provision and forget that WE are not the source of our provisions, but God is. During our conversation, I commented that I was going to trust God and not worry about my fears of what tomorrow might hold. That I was going to focus on today and trust God had this. He smiled and reminded me how far I’ve come. That just a year ago, I couldn’t do that. A year ago, I couldn’t sleep and would constantly worry about the ‘what ifs’ that MIGHT happen, but never did.
This morning, I received a timely reminder from God. I have a reminder in my phone that goes off daily at 8:35am. To be honest, most days, I don’t even notice or pay much attention to it. But today, it came at EXACTLY the right time.
“I trust God. He LOVES ME. ALL things ARE working together for good for those that love God and are called according to HIS purpose. God IS taking care of this. I trust God.”
No sooner, had I read it and felt that gentle reminder that none of this is new information to God then my children’s Vacation Bible School CD began playing the song, “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands.” What an awesome reminder. Regardless of what outside circumstances are going on around me, God’s GOT this. I need only to rest and trust in Him and remember that He rewards our faithfulness. God’s a good God and has good things planned for my life and my family’s life. And the only thing we need to do is be faithful to Him to go where He sends us.
I don’t know how God will provide and meet ALL our needs. But I do know that He’s faithful. I know that NOTHING that has happened to me is a surprise to Him and regardless of where my future leads, He has a GOOD plan for my benefit that will ultimately bring glory and honor to Him. I just need to keep walking in faith and do what I can and trust God to do what ONLY He can. I also know that if I take a deeper look at my life and compare it to Job’s, it’s far from it. I have been blessed this past year; not cursed.
God has blessed with the gift of time. Something I have needed for so long, but haven’t had. Over the past year, I’ve been blessed to spend more time with my children than ever before. I’ve been blessed to have a slower paced life than I’ve had in years. I’ve been blessed to have time to study and worship and pray with God. Honestly, this time has been a bigger gift then a curse, but that realization only comes when we fix our eyes on God on not on the cursory distractions.