Ultimate control and ownership

Ever since the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, the same question arises in our minds from time to time. We have Jesus’ response in what is called the Lord’s prayer, and the prayers in the Bible offer examples of how to pray. What I notice is the predominance of praise in those prayers.

For instance, in 1 Samuel 2, Hannah has just dedicated her child, Samuel, to serve the Lord for rest of his life. This is a child that she prayed for and longed for and now leaves him in the temple with the priest. He is still very young, in fact, just weaned. I cannot imagine how she feels, but her prayer is filled with clues. All ten verses are filled with praise for the God of her salvation!

Verse 8 says, “He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the beggar from the ash heap, to set them among princes and make them inherit the throne of glory. For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, and He has set the world upon them.”

This is Hannah’s world view. She not only sees the power of God, but also His ownership. She knows that He can do what He wishes with her beloved Samuel, making him great if that is His choice. She also knows that even before the child was born, he belonged to God.

These ideas are part of Christian theology, but that doesn’t mean they come easily to our world view. Sin’s notion is that “I control my world” and “Whatever is mine is mine.” Logic and faith say otherwise, but the power of sin ignores both.

Not only that, Christians are tested on these truths all the time. How many people, even God’s people, will say after today that the winner of the US election was not a surprise to God, but rather part of His plan, regardless of who wins? How many will gripe about voters and campaigns and all sorts of reasons why their candidate did not win? Will anyone shake their fist at God and blame Him for the outcome? Will anyone bow their head and thank Him for His sovereign power?

On a more personal scale, how often do I thank God for things that do not fit into my plans? Last month I had an opportunity to purchase some quilting thread. It was on sale at less than wholesale and I use a lot of it. But, for one reason and another, I didn’t get at it and when I finally called to place an order, the sale was over. I didn’t thank my sovereign God for that happening, but I should have. A few days ago, someone with much more experience than I, told me how that brand of thread is manufactured and why it is never a good buy — at any price.

God kept me from wasting my money. Even with a minimum order, I would have spent about a $100. Why didn’t I think to thank Him when I missed the sale? I certainly offered praise after finding out that missing it was a good thing.

The ultimate ownership of things is perhaps an even greater issue. How many people consider their house, car, all possessions as being ‘on loan’ and they are merely stewards or managers of what God has allowed them to have?

One year our garden was particularly lush, but our area was experiencing many hail storms. I worried that my garden would get shredded. Finally, I gave the garden to the Lord, saying, “This is Your garden; if You want to hail on it, that is up to You.”

What strikes me as almost funny now is that the garden was always His. Giving it to Him is not correct theology, but acknowledging that it belongs to Him is more of a biblical world view. That year, God didn’t hail on His garden. I’m not sure what my reaction would have been had He pounded it to the ground, but I do remember being at peace, and no longer worrying about it.

That is the bottom line. People might fight tooth and nail for control and for their rights, but there is no peace of mind in that, only hassle. Trusting God brings peace, ever though there are conditions that go with yielding those things to God. First, I must believe that He actually is in control and owns all things, but I must also believe that He is good and intends good for me. Without trusting Him, I would be wrestling with Him too, and that is about the farthest thing from peace and rest that I can think of.