A Simple Reminder . . .

  In my quiet time this morning, I was hit with a simple, but oh, so powerful, reminder.  GOD IS IN CHARGE.  A couple of days ago I decided to pray through the psalms, using my prayer list.  Originally, I wanted to use the psalms as ways of adoring God in my prayers, but quickly discovered something more.  There are countless words and phrases that speak about the majesty, the completeness, the goodness of God.  But, the psalms also reveal the inner thoughts of people, the occasions in which they were written and their desperate need of God.  Always, there is the reminder of God's everlasting presence.   

A few weeks ago I was putting together material for an order of worship in which I was preaching.  When I asked for a portion of Psalm 9 to be used as the Call to Worship, the other pastor who was participating questioned the appropriateness.  The psalm is written by one who has been surrounded by his enemies and, in one place, strongly condemns them for their wickedness.  The pastor read the psalm and saw warfare; I read the psalm and saw deliverance and the power of God.  It fit with the Old Testament passage I was preaching and I believe it fits in our lives as we face "enemy" every day. 

Again, reading from The Message, we find these words in Psalm 9:  You took over and made everything right; when I needed you, you were there, taking charge . . . God's a safe-house for the battered, a sanctuary druing bad times.  The moment you arrive, you relax; you're never sorry you knocked.  In Psalm 11:  But God hasn't moved to the mountains;; his holy address hasn't changed. 

As I looked at my prayer list, full of requests:  healing for several friends with cancer, friends mourning the passing of spouses, selling our houses in Tennessee, my family, my own health needs, I remembered and prayed each prayer with, "God is in charge."  Knowing, believing those four words gave a peace I cannot describe.  Knowing, believing those words enables one to be strong in the face of circumstances beyond our control, simply because GOD IN IN CHARGE! 

Blessings,
Pastor Margaret