Believing God’s Word and Believing God
All month we have looked at control and lack of control that we have. It boils down to how we react. God’s response to not controlling us has been love. I’m sure he wants that from us as well. But really, I think we do one of two things when we are faced with a lack of control: we get manipulative or we grasp God.
Crumbs are all over the counter, the towels reek of that bacterial smell, the floor is dirty again just 10 minutes after cleaning. The coffee pot is empty, the meeting started exactly on time and I was late, the car won’t start, the lawn mower won’t either, the stack in the garage just fell over. The kids are dragging and cranky this morning, the boss is in a bad mood, the car repair is going to cost thousands. Cancer diagnosis, car accidents, loss of family members, chronic disease, injuries that won’t heal. There are so many things out of our control, that throw us off our game.
Lydia’s set-up
Lydia comes to mind as a woman who was perfectly set-up to take control. She was hosting Paul when he was arrested in Philippi (Acts 16). Oh my. I would have been frantic, running about town, knocking on the doors of the city leaders insisting that Paul had done nothing worthy of being arrested for. I’d have been on a tirade, I think. Or maybe I would be frantic pacing at home, fearful of arrest myself for association with the men. I may have paid my servants to go and spy at the jail and try to get them food, but only if it was possible to remain anonymous. Yet Lydia is not said to have done any of this. She welcomed the men back at her home when they arrived. I can only guess that she grasped firmly onto God. She believed God and rested in His attention and care for others, she didn’t assume that she had to do something to make God’s people were freed. She likely prayed and maybe fasted, but it seems the household continued functioning and did not suffer at from the episode.
A Controlling Woman of the Old Testament
Rebekah was a fair maiden who was of good character when we meet her in Genesis 24. We have a hint of dismay when we read that each parent had a favorite, ‘Rebekah loved Jacob,’ says Genesis 25:28. The accounts of her being labelled as Isaac’s sister when they were travelling (yes, worked as well for her mother-in-law Sarah as it did for her) in Genesis 26 do not contain any complaint or displeasure on her account; she still seems a compliant woman. But the favoritism must have been growing within her, because as we arrive at chapter 27, Rebekah has developed a cunning and deceptive plan to ensure that her son receive Isaac’s blessing.
We could look at it and say that she was carrying out the prophesy that God had given her when she was pregnant with the twin boys; Rebekah had gone personally to inquire of the Lord and received a very clear prophecy about her sons. Was she ‘simply’ carrying it out by manipulating the circumstances so her husband would give the blessing to her favored son? Indeed not. If Rebekah were doing what God had said, then would have believed and not manipulated. She would have believed not only the prophesy; but she would have also believed that God would do as He said. We have to believe the Word and we have to believe God will do what He says. Instead, Rebekah was taking things into her own hands, seeking to control the outcomes as she wanted, manipulating her son and husband both. The story ends with Rebekah never seeing her son again in her lifetime. That is consequence. God forgives us our sins of control, but we do still have to live with the consequences. I wonder too what consequences there were once she had to live with the two men that she had deceived. I wonder what God could have done if Rebekah hadn’t tried to control the situation. I wonder if she repented and was restored to the docile woman she had been. The women of the Old Testament offer rich fodder for seeing how control before faith can impact our lives, but why limit ourselves there?
A Controlling Man of the New Testament
Saul was a man who held control by the horns and was so zealous he even killed in support of it. Talk about manipulation! He seems to have been in the grips of control-mania, seeking to wipe out this threat to His rigorous and regimented way of living. He was a Pharisee like the ones who had the law written upon the outside, but inside the vessel was filth. Saul too was determined to carry out the law as he saw it, rather than carrying it in his heart. Paul’s purpose was the same as Saul’s purpose; that is what I find so fascinating. His purpose was always to help people turn to God and follow him. But as Saul, his drive for obedience was greater than his drive for love. His drive for the law blinded him to the need for love until he was literally blinded by a vision on the road to Damascus. God touched Saul and made him into the man He intended.
It wasn’t just a name change, Saul to Paul, but an attitude change, a heart change. He left it to God to carry out His will and embraced the love and instruction that would make disciples, followers of God. He stopped forcing people to see things his way and he instead instructed, apprenticed others, corrected, attended to other’s needs, and developed relationships. We benefit from those relationships today, as we read much of the New Testament. This man started out as a control freak and task master but became one of the examples and elders of Christianity. He did a ton of damage before his conversion, but we can see the fruit of forgiveness and of the Spirit in him. He let God speak to him and change him, he heard God and believed God. Then he let God do the work in others, while he took care of himself.
Daily choices
Like Lydia’s choice to carry on rather than control the situation, we have those choices every day. I can choose to be irritated by the crumbs on the counter, then add to that the towels that need laundering and how I am always the one that does them, then add to that the dirty floor, and before I’ve walked out the door in the morning, I’ve given myself a bad mood. It is a choice to turn those thoughts into frustration and anger or into encouragement. 1 Thessalonians 5:11 says ‘encourage one another and build each other up,’ but I think we have that obligation that starts with ourselves. I can let it go round and round in my head, coming out in a very ugly, 'clean up the floor!’ or even a ‘why am I always the one who has to do this?’. Nothing I say in that moment will be gentle or kind, will be said in self-control and loving instruction or correction. With the Spirit, I can start with me: the crumbs? Oops, I missed a bit. The towels - just put them in the machine and rejoice that they will smell fresh and clean shortly. The dirty floor, it’ll get done next time it’s scheduled or cleaned up upon my return. But it is only possible long-term to do this under the Spirit.
You may want to point out to me that these are inconsequential things, what about the chronic or long-term illness and the other things that were not as ‘light’? These too are part of God’s plan. I will still be spurred on toward love and good deeds (Hebrews 10:24). My husband was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation a couple of years ago; it was a shock given we are in our forties. I had migraines through most of my thirties. When I was diagnosed and considered the percentage, I would have said over 80% of any given month I had ongoing migraines. Neither of these things took away my peace. They were things that I approached with calm, knowing that God was caring for us. He felt my pain and carried me in it and through it. Fellowshipping with other believers, praying and listening for what He wanted us to do were the only things I could do. I believe God and choose to approach these uncontrollable things with the firm assurance that God will work everything for my (our) good, because I love Him (Romans 8:28). He will be by my side through it all, His Spirit in me. I love Him, I believe Him. I hope you do, too.
