God is in Control

Many of you are wondering if we have heard any news concerning our reunion with Sophia. Unfortunately, we have not heard anything definite. We know she is our daughter, we know we are going to go and get her, but we just don't know when. Dear friends I know that your frustration is mounting like ours, but we must continue to entrust ourselves and this situation to the Lord. Frustration is the result of unfulfilled expectations. We just have to keep reminding ourselves that the Lord is in control and things will work out in his timing. Some of you may be wondering what good it will do to think this way, so let me offer a few ways this line of thinking can help us:

1. The Lord Jesus is to be the focal point of our lives, not our desires. We should desire Jesus above all other things and people. This is what David meant when he said, "Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart" (Ps. 37:4, NIV). To delight ourselves in the Lord is to desire him above all things, and the promise is that the Lord will not withhold himself from us. Jesus said, "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters--yes, even his own life--he cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14:26, NIV). The focal point is Jesus; he should be our all consuming desire.

2. There is comfort in the knowledge that we rest in the One who is in control. There is so much of our lives that we cannot control. We don't know if someone will run through a red light and hit us in an intersection. We don't know when we sit down to a meal if we will get food poisoning. We don't know what person will pass us and infect us with some contagion. There are no guarantees that hard work will pay off in this life. However, we do not despair because "we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose" (Rom. 8:28, NIV). God is not set on destroying us, but on conforming us into the image of his Son, Jesus Christ. His purposes and plans for us will not fail.

3. Anxiety never made anything better. Jesus chided, "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" (Luke 12:25, NIV). He later stated, "But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well. Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom" (Luke 12:31-32, NIV). We are called as Christ's followers to trust his intentions as well as his actions. We cannot see the end of all things, but God knows the ends even as he knows his appointed means. Worrying about it doesn't make a positive impact on the circumstances.

4. It offers greater testimony to the faithfulness of God. There is a difference between saying we believe that God is faithful to his promises, and living out our trust in that faithfulness. Anxiety says to the world that we believe our God to be fickle or faithless or incapable. It reveals a deep seeded mistrust in our Sovereign. Our actions and attitudes are often better reflections of our true beliefs than our statements and confessions. We all understand this principle. We are all leery of a person who feels the continual need to "convince" us of his honesty, but give us a person who has consistently proven his honesty in his dealings and we know we can trust him. Likewise, a believer who consistently lives out his life with confidence in the Lord is more readily believed than someone who is always trying to convince the world that they believe. Or as we say in my native Missouri, "Show me!"

May God grant us the wisdom to live in complete trust in him. He alone is the only one worthy of absolute trust, because he alone is absolutely trustworthy. May he be glorified by our confident faith, as we seek to walk in obedience to his will and purposes. And know this, dear friends, as soon as we hear about our appointment we will let you all know. Until then, continue to trust the wisdom of our Lord.

The Gospel According to Luke

I started reading through the Gospel of Luke today. I was struck by three themes God's sovereignty, his covenantal faithfulness, and his providential care for his people. There is no doubt that the Scriptures present God as Sovereign. Luke's Gospel is no different. God' s sovereignty is demonstrated in his pronouncements concerning John the Baptist and Jesus. It is further demonstrated by his opening of the barren womb and then the virgin womb.

Mary states, "He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever" (Luke 1:54-55). And Zechariah proclaims that Jesus' coming was "to show the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, the oath that he swore to our father Abraham" (Luke 1:72-73). We should not underestimate the importance of covenant faithfulness. The covenantal promises defined the people of God and their relationship to them. Just as Israel's identity was tied to the Old Covenant, so our identity as believers is tied to the New Covenant. But more important than the Covenant is the One on whom the Covenant rests. It was God who promised, and confirmed it with an oath, and God cannot lie. Jesus' coming is demonstrated to be the fulfillment of the promises and the completion of the covenant.

We also see God's providential care in Luke's Gospel. He demonstrates God's providential care through his references to the ordering of circumstances. Such facts as "in the days of Herod," "[Zechariah] was chosen by lot," and "the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David" (Luke 1:5, 9, 26-27) all demonstrate God's ordering and his care. These events are no mere coincidence, but a clear plan emerges as we are reminded that these events have been forth-told by the Lord through His prophets.

These concepts are the heart and soul of practical theology. God's sovereignty, His covenantal faithfulness, and His providential care are all practical matters. If we understand these realities correctly they will shape our lives and bring us great confidence in the Lord. They help us to move beyond our circumstances and feelings. They aid us in pressing forward in faith and obedience, confident in the knowledge that God is in control and he cares for us.