Who’s In Charge? (01/12/2024)

One of our biggest problems is grasping who is really in charge. Authentic humility will always be humanity’s greatest struggle. We are created with free will; we decide. But with grace and humility, we come to realize that while we are responsible for our choices, it is the LORD who is in charge.

I woke up a little after 1 A.M. I re-arranged myself and tried to fall back to sleep, but it became obvious after 30 minutes of re-arranging that I needed to try a different approach, something that would help me to “let go” of flood of thoughts that were between me and sleep. So, I got up, bundled up like Nanook of the North, and went outside to my porch. I sat in the cold, looking out at the snow-covered landscape, listening to the sounds of nature around me. It was there that I was able to set down my “control” and seek the help of the LORD.

I know that the LORD is everywhere. To think that He cannot see me and my struggle in my bedroom is foolish. I know He can. But in my bedroom, in the room in which I determined its purpose, in which I furnished and decorated, I can get caught up in what I’ve done and am doing and miss what the LORD is trying to do. I have always found outside, within the unpredictable beauty which the LORD created and furnished, my humility is easier to find. My cry for help is more authentic.

And so, at 1:30 A.M., this lost sheep cried out to the Shepherd, “Come find me. Help me, LORD.” And I spent nearly an hour bleating out my woes, my worries, my fears, my needs. The comfort came slowly and silently. It seemed the more I poured out, the more room I had within me for peace. It wasn’t that I got answers; it was that feeling of knowing the one in charge was with me, it was the assurance that I wasn’t alone and that I mattered. It was my surrender to His caring love.

“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

I headed back to bed, laid my head on the pillow, and didn’t stir again until 5:30 A.M. I hurriedly made my coffee, bundled up for a good morning prayer time, and headed out. I was excited to share with the LORD my thanksgiving and my litany of needs. I was prepared for another day, ready to take up my responsibilities, but oh, so much more aware of who is really in charge.

Life brings us challenges galore, but the greatest one may be recognizing and remembering who we are and who we are not. There is a LORD, and it is not us.

Until tomorrow, let us all love well.