School is out and summer is here, so here we go again. There is a lot of stuff that happens during the summer for most people. Well, first of all it gets hot and in Florida that means the humidity is about the same as the temperature. Then of course we have the added opportunity to experience a season of hurricanes. I mean the season starts June 1 and they are already reporting a possible storm to hit The Keys this weekend.
There is a predictability to life and it is not an exact science, but you can have a good idea about things by knowing what has happened before. For me this is something I am keenly aware of in every aspect of life. Whether it is our family life or church life, actually any aspect of life. Now that doesn’t mean it will always be the worse it could be, but certainly not that things will be perfect. They are however predictable which means it is foreseeable or you say it is par for the course. I have lived in and around Tampa, FL all of my life and I have learned that it is predictable. That for next few months it is going to be hot and humid. It will rain and “cool” things down but we won’t get a cold front with dry air and cool temperatures for probably about 5-6 months, if then.
I have noticed that the predictability of life is something I have learned about, too. It comes from a Biblical understanding that God is in control. I have very little control of anything, just ask Elaine and she will confirm that fact. You see the truth is that we all make determinations in our lives that have an impact on what happens. We see it every day as those decisions over time that make for where we are or will be in the future.
As I am thinking about this now, we are involved in a discussion about what we want to do in a particular area. We are determining what to do and there is some predictability in it because we have been there before. It is not wrong to say we’ll pray and ask God what to do. We all do that and He is always there and responds accordingly. It is also true that He gave us the ability and experiences to often already know what to do. I believe that God expects us to make decisions and that He is there. He may need to direct us as to the decision we make or He says, as it were, you’ve got this just remember what I have taught you.
I guess the verse that jumps out at me now is Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. If you think about it from God’s vantage point, that is what He has and is doing with you and I. Every day He is showing us how to do this life and make the necessary decisions of life. If you think about it you might hear Him saying through the Holy Spirit and His Word “you’ve got this”.
We know this because throughout Scripture we read in situations that the Word affirms He is always there. Deuteronomy 31:8 says It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed. Then we find in Matthew 28:20 after Jesus has given the Great Commission He says …I am with you always, to the end of the age.
You see what I am talking about because we know the truth that we are not in this alone. However, we have a responsibility as to how things go in our life. The decisions we make can be like the summer weather in Florida. Uncomfortable, unsettling, even dangerous but God says you’ve got this and by the way, I am with you no matter what. Now that is a reassuring thought if I have ever heard one.
This particular week I have found myself interceding in prayer for many of our friends. Folks in the hospital and the families of friends dealing with things and each one God knows about and He is there. Not because I pray or you pray so He shows up, but because that is who He is the omnipresent God. If you will think about it for a moment, those people you and I pray for are experiencing the predictability that God is going to be there and do something because that is what He does.
Predictability is exactly what the definition says it is, foreseeable, par for the course. There is nothing wrong with that because it is foreseeable that there are decisions to make and if we don’t know from experience what to do, God is there to show us the way. He is always teaching and training us and He never leaves us no matter what.
In God’s Grace,
Elbert Nasworthy
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