Isaiah 18 – 22
Verse 18:4 opens with something than man seems to struggle with constantly:
Because the Eternal told me,
Eternal One: I am in control—calm and serene.
I am watching quietly from where I dwell
Just as surely as the heat shimmers in the blazing sun
and the dewy mists cool the warmth of a harvest day.
This is something we all have a problem with accepting. How many times have we said “I am in control”? I know that comes out of my mouth at least once a week. Also, how many times have we said that when all heck is breaking loose? I know for me it’s about 50%.
My most glaring time was trying to start a fire in a pool we were filling in. It would not start, so I put a “little” gas on it to motivate the fire to start. When I threw the match in the pool the concept that gas fumes are heavier than air didn’t really sink in until the fireball almost caught me on fire. Any piece of exposed skin had nasty burns and I had an out of control fire that was close to a gas line for the pool heater and a kudzu patch that would have caused a major forest fire if caught. So out came the hose … which is too short to get to the pool and I start putting the fire out. A guy saw the fireball mushroom cloud and pulled in asking if he should call the fire department. My response to him was “I am in control”!! Luckily, I did put it out and the red blistering face healed quickly, but I was nowhere in control or “calm and serene.”
Through the rest of the reading we see prophecies against Israel and the people who invaded them, since they went a little overboard. In the case of Israel, in their arrogance they thought that no one could touch them, since God was “in control”. Unfortunately they did not respect or acknowledge God in the process. They took “control” and paid the price of their actions.
I think these stories, which are throughout the Bible, help us understand that we are only really “in charge” of this life and not “in control”. If we follow the simple things that God asks of us, things may not be rosy, but we will be in His will. It’s simple to follow the “laws” if you love pleasing God. They are actually quite simple; focus of your personal health and eat right, focus on your financial health and spend well, love others as you would yourself and serve, and finally focus on God and go to Him always. Simple, but hard.