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Out of control (a Timeless Truths blog post)

snowy road red truck

Have you ever been driving on a snowy, slippery back road out in the middle of nowhere when … all of a sudden … you felt the tires start to slide? Then, before you knew it, your whole vehicle started to head in a direction you weren’t planning on … right into the ditch. At the same time … at that precise moment … you realized you were out of control. You knew that, no matter what you did to try and steer away from danger, it would be pointless. The best you could hope for was to send up a prayer heavenward saying, “Jesus take the wheel,” realizing only He could protect you and only He could get you out of the mess you found yourself in. Spiritually speaking, we have a choice when we realize that we are out of control, but God is not. We can either be frustrated or we can be flexible … letting the Holy Spirit bend us towards God’s perfect will; towards His perfect plan (and towards His perfect peace). You see, God is in control. Everything happens “according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will” (as Ephesians 1:11 NIV tells us). We may think we are in control … we may do our best to plan, prepare, and figure things out on our own (using our own understanding oftentimes). However, the reality is only God is sovereign, only God is really in control. So, today, if you find yourself realizing you’re in a situation in which you have no control I have good news for you. Being out of control but trusting the One who is in control is the safest place you can be. When we entrust our hopes, dreams, plans … our very lives to the Master of the Universe; to the King of Kings; to the Lord of Heaven and Earth; to our faithful Father and best Friend … we can trust and believe that “in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose” (as Romans 8:28 NIV tells us). Therefore, be encouraged – God isn’t done yet! The best is yet to come!

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Uncharted Territory (a Timeless Truths blog post)

Are you the type of person who has to have a plan before venturing out into the unknown? Do you try to figure everything out down to the last detail to avoid any potential problem from occurring and catching you off guard? If so, it may take not only a step of faith but, rather, a leap of faith to go forward into uncharted territory … the area where you don’t know exactly what is going to happen or how things are going to turn out. You may feel like it’s safer to just keep things the way they are … perhaps, even, the way they’ve always been. However, the danger in doing that is that you aren’t really living life to the full, and, in fact, if you never dare to take any risks you are, in reality, in danger of hurting yourself … hurting yourself by not living up to your full potential, not “getting out there” to interact with others God may want you to interact with to share the gospel message, and, actually, in danger of hurting your own spiritual walk with God if you’re not daring to trust Him to lead you and guide you in the way He, alone, knows is best for you. According to dictionary.com “uncharted territory” literally refers to anything that isn’t plotted or planned and is often figuratively used to express a wider unknown. So in both the physical and nonphysical senses, it can mean “not yet mapped, surveyed, or investigated.” Most likely, Abram (later renamed Abraham) felt a little nervous (to say the least) when God directed him to leave his familiar world and travel to an unknown land (an unknown territory, if you will). So, too, with us. If we feel God directing us to “get out of our comfort zone” into the realm of the unknown, we, too, may feel a little nervous (or a lot!) However, it’s always better to face our fears than run and hide from them (think of Jonah and the whale!) We need to trust that – with God on our side – nothing we face is too hard, too difficult, or too unbelievable for us to overcome … as long as it really is God directing our path and not us directing our own path. Proverbs 3:5-8 The Message (MSG) says, “Trust God from the bottom of your heart; Don’t try to figure out everything on your own.  Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; He’s the one who will keep you on track.  Don’t assume that you know it all.  Run to God!  Run from evil!  Your body will glow with health, your very bones will vibrate with life!” So, the timeless truth for today is this – whether you are facing the everyday, mundane events of life or whether you are facing uncharted territory – about to take a leap of faith – in either case, remember that you can trust God in any and every situation. He already knows the end from the beginning. He already knows what’s going to happen next. He has proven Himself faithful time and time again (not only to you, but also to all the people in the Bible who have lived before you). He is absolutely trustworthy, faithful, and true. He will never let you down. And, to top it all off, we have this promise we can hold on to from Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV): “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” 

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