Calling Your Own Shots

Those of us who are bloggers have gotten used to "calling our own shots", in the world of photography at least. This article gives another perspective on calling our own shots.

My pastor, Joel DeSelm, has a regular column in our weekly paper. Today's article seemed to build on some thoughts that our family had last weekend. We were talking about how God is Holy, and as such, His thinking, perceptions, and view of circumstances is different (and much better) than ours.

I wanted to share at least part of this article. Maybe someone who reads this will be as blessed and encouraged as I was.

"According to an ancient legend, a certain small village sought to strike a bargain with God. They had been experiencing many years of poor harvest, and thought they could improve on God's way of doing things.
So they asked God for permission to plan the weather for the next year's harvest. To call their own shots in terms of rain, sunshine, etc. God agreed.
During the next year, everything worked exactly as the village requested. Whenever they asked for rain, God sent rain; when they asked for the rain to stop, the rain stopped.
When the villagers asked for sunshine, God sent sunshine. As a result, that year the corn and wheat were higher and thicker than before.
However, when it came time to harvest the crop, the farmers discovered that the tall corn had no ears, and the the thick wheat had no head of grain. The villagers complained bitterly to God.
God replied, 'When you asked for rain, I sent rain. When you asked for sunshine, I gave sunshine. But you never asked for the harsh north winds. Without the harsh north winds there is no pollination, and with no pollination there is no crop'.
How easy it is to think that we know what's best in our lives. It is human nature to think that we can orchestrate the events of our lives for our ultimate good, isn't it?
But the truth of the matter is, we simply cannot see the big picture. Our understanding is limited and our vision is often distorted. We cannot comprehend the long-range impact of events, incidents, and decisions.
Fortunately, the God revealed in the Bible is not only all-powerful and all-knowing, but He is also all-loving as well.
If God wer only all powerful, He could be a wicked despot and a cruel dictator. If He were only all-wise, He might be an impotent genius. But because He is all-powerful, all-wise, and all-loving, He is able to accomplish far more in our lives than we could ever accomplish on our own. And those attributes make God worthy to be trusted.
We often don't understand why God allows certain circumstances to take place in our lives; we can't comprehend how good can result from so much evil, tragedy and pain.
But the mind and heart of God are unable to be completely understood. As God states in Isaiah 55, "My ways are not your ways, neither are my thoughts your thoughts. For as far as the heavens are above the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts higher than your thoughts".
Trust in His wisdom to do what's best. Trust in His power to work in the hearts of people and in the midst of the circumstances. Trust in His love to do what's best for you in whatever it is you are facing.
Not only will the corn eventually grow tall and the wheat thick, but a rich harvest will be yours that you could never have realized, left to your own devices."

Lord, help me to trust you for my circumstances and for your rich harvest in my life.