WHO’S IN CONTROL?
By Garvin Dykes, President
Since the fall of Satan, the history of the world has been one of rebellion. Lucifer wanted God’s throne; Adam and Eve wanted to make independent decisions; and every man wants to be the captain of his own fate. While we would applaud William Earnest Henley for his courage against major physical difficulties, we must shrink from his conclusion in his poem Invictus; “It matters not how straight the gate: how charged with the punishment the scroll. I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul.” People speak of being a “self-made man,” but if I were them I would be reluctant to take responsibility for such a mess.
Missionary Highlight
The White Family
David and Drea White
Please pray for David and Drea White. Soon the White family (with their newest addition) will be on their way to Chile. Their goal is to leave for the field in May 2013.
Chile is a country of 17 million people of which 70% are Catholic. Only 18% of Chile is considered Evangelical. There are 24 other people groups in Chile besides the Chileans; these number 1 million in total.
Please pray for the Whites as they wrap up their deputation ministry. A significant amount of support still needs to come. Also pray that God would give them wisdom as they make this transition.
Some of this information came from Joshua Project and from the CIA World Factbook.
Missionary Humor
What did the Zen Buddhist Monk say to the hot dog vendor? …Make me one with everything.
Missionary Quote
“Oh, my friends, we are loaded down with countless church activities, while the real work of the church, that of evangelizing the world and winning the lost, is almost entirely neglected.”
—Oswald Smith
We see this desire for independent action in the smallest of children. A mother was recently talking to us about changing her small daughter from one instructor to another, when the child spoke up and said, “Actually, I haven’t fully made that decision yet.” If you are a parent, you have heard, “I can do it myself.” The shoes might be on the wrong feet and the coat inside out, but they prefer that to any parental intervention. While some of this is harmless and a natural learning process, it develops into something much more dangerous. I think I hear the echo of many a Believer saying, “Please God, I’d rather do it myself.” As I have stumbled through life banging into closed doors, reluctant to walk through open ones, and getting myself into the farthest dead end corner of life’s maze, I have finally learned that I really don’t want to control my own life. I need a far steadier hand at the helm and a Captain who knows the sea.
There is too much I can’t control and too great a risk I would mess it up if I could. We pray before every trip we make and ask God to watch over us. We have had many a narrow escape by only a few seconds. One time we pulled off at a rest stop with our camper and there was no place to park, so we didn’t even stop. Two minutes down the road there was a terrible accident that we would have been in the middle of. A recent incident in our lives illustrates the other side of things. This time we didn’t quite escape, but we still know God was watching over us. We were involved in a terrible accident in which our van was totaled, but we came out with minor injuries (abrasions, contusions, and two broken ribs). There were many factors we could not control.
I programmed the pastor’s home address instead of the church address into my GPS or we would not have been where we were. A young lady ran a stop sign and hit us. Two seconds more and We would have been been gone. Two seconds more and she would have been gone. Had I had time, my first instinct would have been to speed up to get out of her way, and if I had done that I would have gotten a direct broadside blow. We had just gotten a van with airbags all around, and every one of them deployed. Had we not had those, instead of a busted ear and a few minutes of unconsciousness, I might not be here, or be seriously injured. I believe there is much more of this kind of watch care that we will never know about this side of heaven.
All of us who are saved, try to control our own lives some of the time, some of us try to control our lives all of the time, and many of us try to control them most of the time. Who is in control of your life? The Psalmist says “Commit thy way unto the Lord, trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.” (Psalm 37:1) We are admonished in Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” Our “way” is our entire course of life and the Hebrew word “direct” carries the meaning of “pleasant, prosperous, and straight.” Psalms 23 reveals the wisdom of the sheep following the Shepherd. The words of a wise and dear brother who has just gone home to be with the Lord sums up what I am trying to say. The last time we talked to Brother Fred Andrews he said, “I would not have chose to do things this way, but I belong to God; and who am I to tell God what to do with his property?”
When the Temple was consecrated, the priest placed the Ark of the Covenant in the most holy place, pulled out the staves with which it was carried, and backed out. Then the glory of God filled the place so that the priests could not even stand to minister. Let us place God on the throne of our lives and back out. Life is better when He is in control.