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Lean on This - All is Ultimately Under God's Control

by Annette Stafford

 
My sore chest and still bruised knees and shins after a bike fall over two weeks ago have seen me with a much more focused appreciation and dependence upon God.  When picking up my husband from hospital the other day after having his hernias done, I realised we are not the young athletic couple we used to be and are entering an age of vulnerability.  When you don't feel strong and robust, when you suddenly can't go about your day to day with the strength and vigour you always had you are reminded that none of us can make it on our own - it's the reason Jesus came.  I've been brought to this realisation many times in life often when I seemed to be riding the crest of a wave and without warning I'm thrown into the rough choppy seas.  Its at these times I realise my human frailty and lean on God to take the reins.  It's never that I ever completely forget God - he is very much a part of my day-to-day but when things go wrong there is a concentrated focus on seeking His help, His counsel, His guidance, minute by minute, hour by hour to get me through the day.  It is in these moments of complete helpless dependency that I truly understand humility, honesty and radical dependence on God and the importance of his compassionate and knowledgeable community on earth.  

If you read what been making the headlines in recent times as you scroll the newsfeed it seems geopolitical unrest instead of peace has become the order of the day.

Back in May, relations between the world's two greatest powers took a sour turn when US President Donald Trump and his administration declared trade war on China giving China a punishing list of economic demands. Around the same time the US decision to rip up the nuclear deal with Iran put further strains on the US relationship with China.  Trump withdrew from the agreement on 8 May without any consultation with either China or Russia, both signatories to the 2015 accord and at a time when China's support will be imperative if there is any success for a North Korean peace deal.  Trump didn't just impose sanctions on Iran, he imposed secondary sanctions on any countries that continues to trade normally with Iran forcing European companies to withdraw from the Iranian market unless they get exemptions from the US.  This majorly impacts China where it is estimated that nearly a third of Iranian oil exports this year already have gone to China and so understandably the world sits by wondering if China will continue to trade with Iran. 

The downward spiral of this type of brinkmanship can lead to military conflict which is why French president Emmanuel Macron commented of Trumps withdrawal from the Iran deal that it could open Pandora's Box with the real threat of war.

We're only the pawns on the chessboard and so it's difficult to know on the world stage where this will all end but one thing is for sure we live in conflicting times and we need God at the helm.

Our world is ever-changing.  Sometimes things seem so bright and rosy on the horizon and, without really digging, we can count our blessings but with the blink of an eyelid things can so quickly change.  It's the nature of things, it's the nature of man, it's the nature of our mortal world as we know it. Sometimes when I dare to look the world seems full of evil-doers opposed to God's purpose and in that head-space it's easy for me to think that evil in the universe might derail God's plans. Yet, my heart knows that God is always there and that all things in our world are ultimately under God's control.

No matter how difficult things may seem, hope and faith always offer the chance for a new beginning. When we truly hope and trust, when we truly rely on God for everything, we see breakthroughs happen.

We can believe in God's promises and then act to fulfil and embrace the purpose for which we were created - to carry out his will, to love our neighbour, to fight for justice and to take part in God's divine plan. Here on earth for 33 years God experienced in flesh what its like to be one of us.

The Bible is an account of many miracles - of God's continual working in creation to redeem and restore humanity. We can hold onto the assurance that God has entered human suffering in a very personal way in Jesus and subsequently comes to us whenever and wherever there is pain and strife.  Now that's reassurance.

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