God is in control

God is either in control or He is not. If He is not, then we are on our own to work out things as best we can and the whole of life is senseless, futile, and without meaning. If, however, God is in control, then whatever comes, both the good and the difficult, has meaning and ultimate purpose.

I do not for a moment believe that evil comes from God or that everything that happens to us is caused by God. I do, however, believe that “...all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28 NKJV).

I believe that God loves me more than I love myself and that He loves my family and friends more than I do. While He may be less concerned with our day-to-day “happiness” than we are, I firmly believe that He is tremendously interested in and concerned with our life’s destiny and our ultimate purpose.

On Friday, Feb. 13, 1970, I arrived at Parris Island, S.C., in the wee hours of the morning. For the next 13 or so weeks, life was difficult, fearful, terrifying, uncertain, and filled with mental, spiritual, and physical exhaustion. We arose at 5 a.m., or earlier, to the screams and profanity of men we believed to be insane sadists and, until 9 p.m., seven days a week (we did sleep until 6 a.m. on Sundays), with very brief respites, were pushed beyond our limits.

The screaming and yelling rarely abated, and copious amounts of physical punishment were distributed for the slightest infractions. I once received the punishment of 500 bends and thrusts for blowing a sand flea off my upper lip. Such was the exquisite agony of Marine Corps boot camp.

Yet, the purpose of it all was to transform teenaged boys into fighting men and to give these men the skills and discipline that would enable them to survive and emerge victorious in the killing fields of far-off and hostile lands. Everyone who survives boot camp looks back with a clearer understanding than when they were in the midst of the ordeal.

I have a friend, who is also my bishop, who cannot currently speak nor move his right side. He is a great man of faith and prayer. I have never known anyone who has served God with such fervor and commitment.

Yet, today, he is undergoing treatment in a medical rehabilitation center, the victim of a stroke just five weeks ago. He is 53 and has four children, all of whom currently live at home. Yet, I believe that a purpose, which I cannot identify from this current vantage point, exists.

Two weeks ago, my son’s home burned in the early morning. They all escaped but now, my son and his wife, along with five children, ages 1 to 11, live with my wife and me. In three months, perhaps, they will be able to return to their home. In the meantime, I believe that there is meaning and purpose in all this. Somehow, God is at work and, in the days to come, it will be obvious.

In the late 1970s, I experienced betrayal from a man I considered my dear friend. The details are unimportant but, for 10 years, I was angry and bitter toward him. Gradually, as I was able to forgive him and pray for him, God slowly revealed some of the meaning of it all.

Today, I realize if, not for those events, I would not be who I am today, nor would I be where I am doing what I am doing. Today, I can honestly thank God for this man because, in the end, all did, indeed, “work together for good.”

Jeremiah 29:11 states, “’For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope’”(NASB).

I may not see it all right now — I may never see it all — but I believe that God is good, that He is love, and that He is trustworthy. He is in control. He is not caught off guard. There is meaning and purpose, even in the midst of the ordeal. The storm will pass, we will not drown, and the sun will shine again.