Two things.  (and then Romans 9)

I am not in control.  Oh sure, I can make plans and even commit them to my calendar, but in the end, I do not control whether this thing or that thing will come to pass.  ‘Fact is, I can make all sorts of plans, but the final outcome is in God’s hands.  It was many years ago when I memorized these verses, “Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit. Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.  Instead, you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that."  James 4.13-15. NASB

Segue – we were recently turning in our Bible to the book of James at Women of Passion; after reading a particular passage, I asked, “Do any of you have other verses underlined or marked in your Bibles from James?”  Several practical verses were offered, and then one friend said, “I’ve just gotta share this . . .”  And then she read the above verses and recounted how those verses had carried her through a rough time a number of years ago . . . and now, remembering, thinking back was quite sweet. 

Which jogged my memory of an old verse, “God’s Word does not return void.” Or, from another translation, God said, “It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.”   Isaiah 55.11   That is why the writer to the Hebrews said that Scripture is ‘living and active’.  There is no other writing that is divinely inspired, which is why Scripture does what no other book can do in our lives--it ministers, teaches, encourages, and empowers.  (and so much more!)

Allow me to segue back . . . so several days after remembering those verses in James, my day started like so many before—got up, fixed my family breakfast, prepared school lunches, had a conference call prayer meeting, and went to the gym.  However, when I came home, everything went haywire.  My 16 year old son, Dylan, who had been at home sick with a sore throat and fever (what the doctor called a bacterial infection), came walking into my bedroom, clutching his chest.  “Mom, Mom,” he said with urgency, “can I have some antacids?  I have heartburn really bad—at least, I guess that’s what it is.  I’ve never had heartburn before.”  So I gave him three tablets, and in short order, two more.  They did not help.  Within 10 minutes, he was laying across the floor on his belly, crying, saying, ‘You’ve gotta do something, I’m hurting so bad!’  ‘Was it an allergic reaction to Amoxicillin?’ I thought, as we called the doctor.  ‘Get him to the emergency room,’ was the response.

And so just another day with scheduled meetings and responsibilities was suddenly a surreal day as the first e.k.g. had the nurses saying, ‘M.I.’.  (not knowing that we knew that an MI meant myocardial infarction, or heart attack)  We were catapulted into a frantic state of trying to comprehend what was going on with our strong athletic son who had just gotten his drivers’ license! 

I naturally hit my ‘default’ button.  What’s your default setting?  Mine is to remember that God is in control, he loves us, he has a plan, and he already knows the outcome; therefore, I need to entrust the situation to him, get other people praying, and look for his wise direction.  And yes, I always scan my mind for Scripture that is the wisest counsel I know—in this case, I smiled as I remembered, “Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit. Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow . . . if the Lord wills, we will do this or that.”  So apropos!  Hmmm . . . I do not know what the future holds, but I know who holds my hand.

So ….. Dylan?  Well, after several days in intensive care running more tests and getting his pain under control, it appears that it was a viral infection (from earlier in the week) that moved to his heart, specifically the lining around his heart.  The diagnosis—pericarditis.  He is home now, and actually, feeling amazingly well.  (thank you for praying!)  Yesterday he missed a National Cup soccer game, (playing goalkeeper for his premier club team) in the ‘Round of 16’ which was a bit of a heartbreak.  And we remember ‘if the Lord wills, we will do this or that’—I guess the Lord didn’t will that for him!

There are two things I should like to point out to you, my beloved readers and friends—(do you know that these briefings are read by folks all over the world—in Ethiopia, Kenya, Singapore, Egypt, Pakistan, India, England, Qatar … ?)  First, we can and should make plans, but always with the thought that we hold them loosely in our hands.  “If the Lord wills, we will do this or that.”

Second, God’s Word does not return empty.  When you help your small child memorize a verse for Sunday School, you have no idea of when God will revisit that verse on that child—or in what circumstance it will bring instruction or comfort.  When you study Scripture, such as the book of Romans where we find ourselves reading Paul’s words of instructions, it will always add value to you in some way—even if you do not see that now.  You might be in a situation, and your memory tweaked, ‘hey, I think I remember God said something about this!’ and you go back to find that ‘Yes, indeed…God did address planning’ or his will, or some matter of doctrine, etc.  God’s Word always produces fruit.  Amen. 

So those are the two things I should like you to remember today. 

With great love and affection,

Christine