RELAX – HE’S IN CONTROL

Pastor Bankie “No matter what may come my way, my life is in Your hands.”

You’ve probably heard that song again and again, but I want to ask you, ‘do you really believe it?’

Before you shout “yes!” please think. James said that it is possible for a man to deceive himself; that is, you can be convinced that you believe something, yet in truth you do not. He further went on to explain that the only way you can show your faith is by the works that are produced thereby.

So, to answer my question, you must examine your actions. How did you respond when you did not get that job? Did you thank God? What did you say when your salary came late? Did you speak evil of the manager? When the girl said ‘No,’ how long was your depression? When the car got burnt, did you curse the mechanic?

Now let me ask you again. Do you really believe that no matter what may come your way your life is in His hands? If you don’t, let me tell you that you should. Here is why.

First, let me quickly say that this message is specifically directed at children of God, i.e. those who have a personal relationship with God the father through His son, the Lord Jesus Christ who died, was raised and is alive and well today seated at the right hand of God on high. They are those to whom I speak today. If you are reading this and you are not one of these, please go on reading, there is an instruction for you at the end of it.

This is why you should believe that your life is in His hands.

You see God is a father; He is not just a great, mightily powerful person who oftentimes answers your prayers. No! He is a Father who thinks, and who has plans. He said ‘I know the thoughts (or plans) that I have for you, plans for good.. to give you a future and a hope.’

He plans. He is the only wise God; therefore His plans are wise plans. What’s more? He loves you and cares for you more than you can ever care for yourself. This is why Peter said ‘Cast all your anxiety upon Him for He cares for you.’

His plans for you are not haphazard, neither are they contingency plans drawn up at a critical moment. No, He has your life well ordered in His hands. In fact, God had the plans already written down before your birth.

“…in Thy book they were all written, the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them”. Ps.139

“..in the volume of the book it is written of me” Ps. 40

So you see, He planned your life ahead of time. The path He chose for you is to lead you to a particular place. In God’s plan, time and chance is not what will happen but a predestination, i.e., a destination afore determined. Right now you are most probably on the course that will lead you to a destination and you are wondering about the goings-on around you. Let it be known to you that in those goings-on, whatever may come your way, your life is in His hands!

This path you are on vary from person to person. Even if we were all headed for the same place, individuals differ, therefore God has ordained to take all there through different routes. How much more when the destination differs. For this cause you must never compare yourself with anyone else. The age at which your friend married does not have to be the same as yours. Your cousin bought a car within his first year of working, yet you haven’t after eight years does not mean you are a failure. It just means a car is not part of your own first eight years.

“Do not fret, it leads only to evil doing”

The fact that our lives differ even though we may all be sons of God is the reason why He was called ‘the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob’. He wasn’t called the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. This is to let you know that the God of Abraham is different from the God of Isaac and is different from the God of Jacob.

Yes, He is one, but looking from your life and mine, it’s not so. Abraham had to leave a land and never go back. Isaac was commanded not to move at all, whereas Jacob had to return after a sojourn. That was God in three different lives.

Your life is unique. Your path is unique.

Your concern should be whether or not you are right in the course of God’s plan for your life. God has a plan for your life.

Why does God take you through the path you’re in now? Why does He not just bring you to that broad place which is where you’d rather be?

Well, I don’t completely understand too but one thing I have come to know is that God always qualifies people for that destination. He checks to be sure that you’re really interested in going there and that you are a correct person to take there. He is “testing you to know what in your heart whether you would keep His commandments or not.” Dt 8:2

It is called the trial of your faith, which is said to be more important than wealth (Peter said ‘more precious than gold’).

Now, when God says something is important you’d better believe it is.

He is also teaching you vital lessons by which you will survive when you reach that promised land. Even Jesus had to go through it.

“Although He was a son, yet He learned obedience from the things which He suffered." Heb 5:8

So you see that the fact that things are not going right for you does not mean God is not there. The fact that you are alive is proof that God is with you. It is written:

“It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed.”

Faith does not say things will never go ‘wrong’ with me. It only knows that things will never go wrong with God’s plan for my life. Believe that. What you call wrong may just be God’s right.

To Joseph, being hated by his brothers and then being sold into slavery couldn’t have felt right. Being falsely accused of attempted rape and subsequent incarceration most definitely did not feel right. Yet, you and I know that it was God’s plan for taking Him to that destination. We can therefore say Joseph’s life was in His hands.

Are you suffering anything today? Please don’t waste it, learn one form of obedience or another from it. If you do, the suffering shall indeed be cut short. If you stay there grumbling and wondering why His hands have become short that He cannot deliver, you will stay there for long. Remember that God is very patient!

So, whatever situation you‘re in, obedience must be the lesson. Let no voice of grumbling be heard in your place, only the voice of faith and thanksgiving.

Declare: ‘The Lord is my portion, therefore I will hope in Him.’
‘It is of the Lord’s mercies that I am not consumed because His compassion fails not’.

Declare ‘when I have been tested, I will come forth as gold.’
Don’t shout your circumstance, sing His promises, sing His praise.
‘Let the weak say I AM STRONG.’

Remember this: in all the troubles of Job, the contest was whether or not he would sin with his mouth. Please “suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin.”

It is in these trials that “few are chosen.” O yes, many were also called but they failed. Have you not known that for every job taken by someone there were many applicants. Have you not known that for every admission there were many candidates. The rest failed. So, many were called but that one was chosen.

That is why Paul said ‘so run that you may obtain.’ Run in life as if there is only one vacancy. See your situation as tests that you must pass. Don’t fail your sponsor and teacher: the Holy Spirit. Don’t fail your guarantor –Jesus Christ.

When the children of Israel came upon trials in the wilderness, they murmured, spoke evil and for that reason perished in their trials. May you not perish!

Do you know why people murmur? It is called “the cares of this world;” i.e “what shall we eat, what shall we drink, wherewithal shall we be clothed?”

God says “leave those things for me; you are my child, I’ll take care of you. I take care of the birds that don’t even acknowledge me, how much more you. The very hairs on your head are numbered; that is just to show how much concern I have for you.”

Do not let covetousness get a hold of you. It is called the “deceitfulness of riches.” What is the deceit there? You probably think your life will much improve when you have a lot of money and material possessions, but it is a lie. Jesus said “a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of things that he possesses.” That is the very truth. Believe it. Your life consists of the amount of relationship you have with God.

“In Him was life.”

Let covetousness depart from your eyes. Why are you concerned about the opinion of those who only judge life by possessions? If you can forget them you will be free. It does not matter whether it is your father or your friends. Remember, your first allegiance is to the Lord Jesus. This is the meaning of “except a man hates his father and mother…he cannot be my disciple”. He was not saying, “curse your father or mother.” He only meant, “I come first.”

Another thing, your expectation is far below what God is doing. Don’t be like Naaman who said “I thought…” and yet he was wrong; God was not interested in what he thought, He had His own way.

“My ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts”.

So relax! He will come to you with His blessings in His own time and in His own way.

Check these two statements from the mouth of the great man of God, Bishop David Oyedepo; they helped me tremendously. He said, “the blessings of God come at a time they will not become a curse; even though they are slow, they are sure. I’d rather be slow but sure than be fast and fail”.

Also he said, “life is in phases, men are in sizes, so live your size per time”.

Child of God, God loves you and wants the best for you. Relax in His hands. You can trust Him. He will not fail you. He has sworn to that. He will never fail. Indeed, He cannot!
Your life is in His hands. Do you believe it now? No matter what may come your way!

If you have just read this and you have not yet committed your life into God’s hands, know that you can do that by coming to God through His son Jesus Christ. You may wish to pray this prayer (say it out loud):

“Father, I come to you in the name of Jesus.
“I commit my life into your hands.
“Wash away my past and give me a new life in Jesus.
“I accept Him (Jesus) today as my lord; I will follow His word.
“Teach me to love you.
“In Jesus’ name.”