Who is in control

Life is filled with unexpected interruptions and undesired events that may send us reeling. A few years ago, I was driving to a hospital in Atlanta when the cell phone rang. My secretary instructed me to pull over and, when she was certain that I was off the road, told me that she didn’t know how or why or what his condition was but that my son, a police officer, had been shot.

Suddenly, nothing else mattered — not the person in the hospital, not my lunch appointment, and not the traffic laws of the state of Georgia as I rushed to the emergency room.

When my father died in 1996 and when my mother became ill six years later and died in eight days, again, everything that seemed so important at the time came to a halt.

I have had a son who, as a 7-year-old was mauled by a Great Dane and, when he was 9, was run over by a car. Another son was lost for nine hours in the Gulf of Mexico. All survived but, at the time, the world became suffocating, dark, and grim.

Over my life of 56 years, over 35 of which are in the ministry, I have had more than my share of unpleasant events and have shared hundreds of such events with members of the congregations I served. Last Friday, a dear friend and colleague suffered what doctors called a “massive stroke” and, the next day, underwent emergency surgery. He is 53 years old, a husband, father of four, and a pastor.

“In the year that King Uzziah died,” so the prophet Isaiah recorded, “I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of his robe filled the temple” (Isaiah 6:1 NKJV). The following verses describe a heavenly scene that is magnificent and dynamic.

In Isaiah’s day, Uzziah had ruled for 52 years and, for the most part, had been a great king in Judah. Now there came a tragedy and no one could predict what the future would hold, either for Isaiah personally or for the nation. Yet, in the midst of Isaiah’s fervent prayers, he is given a vision that assures him that God is still on the throne, is still reigning, and is still in control.

It is always difficult to “pray the prayer of faith” (James 5:15 NKJV) during dark and uncertain days. How can one walk in trust and faith when, all around, everything is being shaken and seemingly devastated?

This, perhaps, is the power of the vision of Isaiah — that God has not been caught off guard and that even in the midst of those circumstances and events that bring us to our knees, He is on the throne.

There have been times that I have recognized his Lordship over all and have humbly bowed in submission to His will. There have been other times when I have walked into the back yard, looked to the skies, and shouted, “God, what in the #@%& are you doing to me?!” Either way, he still reigns.

During these difficult times, we have a further assurance from the throne room that “... the LORD, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed. (Deut. 31:8 NKJV), and, in the New Testament, “For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’” (Heb. 13:5 NKJV)

It is a difficult task to encounter, walk through, and emerge from unimaginable events. Yet, if and when they occur, this is what one must do.

God is on the throne — He is in control — beyond that we cannot speculate. We can only bow to Him and submit to his mercy, compassion, and wisdom. He is on the throne. For now, that must suffice.